<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>If It Kills Me by mousemonster</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022610">If It Kills Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mousemonster/pseuds/mousemonster'>mousemonster</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shall We Date?: Obey Me!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>But mainly Mammon and Beel because theyre my favorites, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Multi, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Will add more tags as I go, Will explore MCs relationship with all the brothers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:21:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>41,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022610</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mousemonster/pseuds/mousemonster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The past hour had been, to put it lightly, absolutely fucking bizarre. </p><p>You thought it might be a dream at first. Standing in a huge, gothic assembly hall, staring up at five abnormally attractive men who all claimed to be demons, and being told that the next year of your life was to be spent in literal Hell, acting as some sort of guinea pig in an inter-realm exchange student program? How could it not be a dream?</p><p>~~~</p><p>Following the plot of the game for the most part, with added/expanded scenes and some moderate canon divergence to keep things ~fun and fresh~</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>634</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Well, I'm Here Now</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>After years of lurking, I’ve finally made an account here. My love for these boys was just too strong to contain. (Title idea from the chorus of This Year by the Mountain Goats: "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.")</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The past hour had been, to put it lightly, absolutely fucking bizarre. </p><p>You thought it might be a dream at first. Standing in a huge, gothic assembly hall, staring up at five abnormally attractive men who all claimed to be demons, and being told that the next year of your life was to be spent in literal Hell, acting as some sort of guinea pig in an inter-realm exchange student program? How could it not be a dream? </p><p>But the longer things dragged on, the more it sunk in that it was all really happening. You really were in a different world. Those guys were actual, literal demons. Words like “classes” and “written report” barely registered as you struggled to wrap your mind around the drastic turn your life had suddenly taken. Would you be able to communicate with anyone back home? Or were you just going to drop off the face of the earth for an entire year? God, how was your family going to react when they realized you had just disappeared?</p><p>And then some white-haired demon, one of the brothers—Mammon?—was shouting at you, and you weren’t taking <em>any</em> of it in; your brain had said, “you know what? No thanks,” and stepped out for the night, leaving you to nod along with whatever was being said without actually comprehending anything. That seemed to be the best tactic with Mammon, anyway, the guy talked so much you probably wouldn’t have been able to get a word in if you’d tried. </p><p>He stormed out and you followed, and you hoped you weren’t supposed to remember the route because you’d been too busy staring at the scenery to pay attention. It all looked shockingly <em>normal</em>, sidewalks and street lamps and landscaped flowerbeds. Bathed in the dim, dusky light of a moonlit sky—it hadn’t been that late at home, had it?—everything felt a little eerie, but it was a far cry from the blighted hellscape that you’d expected. </p><p>The building Mammon led you to, which he called “The House of Lamentation,” (<em>there</em> was the spooky shit you had been waiting for) was an enormous, stately mansion that would have looked right at home in a horror movie. Under different circumstances, you would have loved to take the time to explore every room, but your tour guide was clearly eager to be rid of you and you weren’t in any state to go wandering around by yourself. You kept silent as he stomped through the halls, eventually depositing you outside a door and letting you know that he’d probably be along to fetch you for breakfast in the morning, although he certainly didn’t say it that kindly. </p><p>And then you were alone. </p><p>And that’s how you got here, sprawled on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar house, staring at an ivy-covered wall and wondering what the <em>hell</em> had just happened. It all seemed incredibly rushed, given what a huge deal it was. A huge deal to you, at least. You hadn’t even signed any paperwork. Was there going to be some sort of orientation? How did they expect you to get supplies?</p><p>Shit, supplies. You had no clothes, other than the ones you were wearing (thank God you didn’t change into pajamas at home earlier that night, that embarrassment on top of everything else might have sent you over the edge), no toothbrush, literally nothing at all to your name. Maybe you’d get an allowance. Or maybe they didn’t give a shit and you were going to have to find a way to get the things you needed yourself. The man who said he was a prince, though, Diavolo, he seemed nice, and they <em>did</em> give you a free phone. </p><p>You pulled the device out and examined it. It was easily mistakable for a regular, human world smartphone, which led you to wonder whether demons had taken the design from humans or if humans had gleaned inspiration from demons. Unlocking it revealed a small selection of apps. Most resembled the default apps on your own phone—messages, contacts, camera, the basics. You assumed the one labeled “tasks” was for the school work Lucifer had mentioned. </p><p>Why was there a school down here anyway? Weren’t demons like, immortal? What was the point? </p><p>You tossed the phone down with a sigh. Your family probably wouldn’t notice right away that you were gone, since you lived away from home, but your roommates would realize something was up. The thought of everyone worrying and searching for you twisted your insides in a way that brought tears to your eyes. Hopefully you would be able to let them know you were okay. </p><p>For now, there was no use dwelling on it. You sat up and gave your new room a more thorough once-over, looking for anything to distract you from falling into unpleasant thoughts. </p><p>The space was, like a lot of what you had seen so far, surprising. A seemingly live tree dominated one corner, emerging from the wall and forming a leafy canopy over the bed. Small lanterns hung from the branches. There was a large, ornate rug spread across the floor, a full sized table and chairs, a bookcase complete with books and knickknacks, an empty closet, and a chest of drawers. Despite all the dark wood and exposed stone (and some macabre touches, like the bookcase being shaped like a coffin), it managed to avoid looking like a dungeon, and actually felt kind of cozy. </p><p>On the far end of the room, a door opened to an adjoining area you couldn’t make out from the bed. It ended up being a bathroom. A really nice bathroom. Taking a long, hot soak in the jacuzzi-sized tub sounded fantastic at the moment, but anxiety over one of those brothers coming around kept you from indulging. It hadn’t really been made clear whether you were just going to be left alone until tomorrow or if anyone would be stopping by to continue your informal introduction to this place. </p><p>You didn’t bother checking out the books they had provided, knowing you wouldn’t be able to concentrate enough to read right now. So, back onto the bed it was. Sleeping seemed like the best and frankly only option, even though you were so wound up it would be a miracle if you managed to fall asleep anytime soon. Normally, you’d listen to music or watch Youtube to relax, maybe play a mindless game on your phone or scroll social media until your eyes got heavy. </p><p>You retrieved the DDD and opened it up again. If the device itself was so similar to those in the human world, maybe the apps would be, too. </p><p>Scrolling through the demon equivalent to the app store proved this assumption to be true. Comically so, in fact. Seeing names like “Devilgram” and “Akuzon,” accompanied by logos that blatantly imitated familiar ones from back home, clarified your theory somewhat about who might have copied whose technology. You went ahead and downloaded several apps from the “Most Popular” page, including the Instagram, Amazon, and Youtube clones.</p><p>Deviltube ended up being exactly what you needed, providing a rabbit hole of content to distract you over the next few hours. Cooking tutorials, video game playthroughs, fashion hauls, vlogs…. It was simultaneously comforting and unsettling, how human it all was (or sometimes just unsettling, like when the suggested videos included titles like “How to Fillet a Body” and “Steal a Human’s Soul in 7 Easy Steps”). </p><p>As you watched, your thoughts drifted to the demons you’d been introduced to so far. Mammon hadn’t made a great first impression. You couldn’t help but wonder, though, with all the grumbling and complaining and the way Lucifer had cowed him with hardly a word, if he was really as ruthless as he seemed to want you to believe. You were sure he could kill you on a whim regardless, but maybe (hopefully) he was more bark than bite. </p><p>Lucifer’s merciless persona, you didn’t doubt one bit. That man radiated danger. His piercing, calculated gaze elicited a variety of feelings—the feeling of being a prey animal, cornered by a predator; the feeling that he wasn’t so much looking <em>at</em> you but <em>into</em> you, like he could read your thoughts or see your very soul (for all you knew, he could); the feeling of a slight blush rising to your face because he was awfully attractive. Not that they weren’t all attractive, he just had this…. charming aura about him. Probably like how carnivorous plants lured in unsuspecting insects with a sweet scent. And you weren’t much more than an insect to these demons, were you?</p><p>The blonde one, Satan, seemed fine. Then again, Lucifer had warned you that the pleasant facade was exactly that—a facade. Time would have to tell. </p><p>Asmodeus felt the least overtly threatening out of all of them. Part of it was probably his slighter build and softer features, coupled with a more cheery demeanor compared to his brothers. If incessant flirting was the worst you had to endure from him, he might not be half bad.</p><p>Beelzebub was the exact opposite. You hadn’t even seen him up close and the sheer size of him was still enough to intimidate you. And of course there was the whole, “he might eat you” thing. What a comfort, knowing that at least one of the people you were sharing a living space with had to make an active effort not to literally have you for dinner. </p><p>Beyond that, there were presumably two more brothers you had yet to meet. Sloth and envy. You couldn’t even begin to guess what they’d be like, you just crossed your fingers that they’d be at least a little friendly and not inclined towards the taste of human flesh.</p><p>Hours later, your mind swimming with thoughts of demon brothers and Deviltube videos and mystery schoolwork, you finally grew tired enough to set your DDD aside and drift into an uneasy sleep. A year wasn’t <em>that</em> long. You’d get through this, one day at a time. </p><p>Hopefully.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just felt like skipping over the opening scene from the game, since it gets written out in so many different fics and I didn’t really have anything new to add. I’m probably going to play a little loosey-goosey with canon as we progress. Chapter 2 should be up sometime soon--any feedback is appreciated, and thank you for reading! ^_^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Breakfast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Food is had, plans are made, Levi is introduced (more or less)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You hadn’t set an alarm the night before, not knowing when exactly breakfast would be, but it ended up not being an issue. You woke up around 6:30 AM and couldn’t manage to fall back asleep. Strangely enough, it still looked like the middle of the night outside. Maybe endless darkness was just a thing down here. It was Hell, after all. </p><p>You briefly wondered if the demon prince had considered the effects of vitamin D deficiency or seasonal affective disorder before dropping a human into a place with no sunlight. If he didn’t even think kidnapping someone for a year was worth a heads up, though, probably not. </p><p>The air outside your blankets was chilly enough to raise goosebumps on your arms. The feeling of day-old, slept-in clothes was also not pleasant.</p><p>Not that you had any soap, but you stepped into the bathroom and took a shower anyway, just to rinse some of the grimy feeling from your skin. It took some doing to find a suitable temperature between “the surface of the sun” and “winter in Antarctica.” Apparently demons were a little hardier than the average human. You finished quickly, reluctantly putting your dirty clothes back on and swishing some water around your mouth in lieu of brushing your teeth. </p><p>You didn’t have long to wait before Mammon came around.</p><p>“Hey! Human!” he called, banging on the door. “Time to get your ass outta bed! And hurry it up, cause I ain’t gonna stand around waiting!”</p><p>You slid your DDD into a back pocket and checked in the mirror that you looked somewhat presentable (your damp hair and wrinkled clothes left a lot to be desired), and opened the door on Mammon with his fist raised to start knocking again. </p><p>“Oh,” he said, some of his bluster lost now that you’d caught him off guard. “I thought you’d be sleeping.” He continued before you had a chance to respond, “You better always be that quick when I tell you to do something! Come on, I wanna get to breakfast before Beel eats it all.”</p><p>He took off down the hall at a brisk pace, and you followed a short distance behind. Thankfully the path to the dining room was fairly straightforward. You were confident you’d be able to find it on your own if no one came by to escort you tomorrow. Mammon grumbled to himself the whole way, his attention fixed on his DDD, not sparing you a single glance even as the two of you arrived at the table and you slid hesitantly into the chair next to him. </p><p>Lucifer, Satan, and Beelzebub were already seated—Lucifer at the head of the table, Satan to your right, and Beelzebub across from you. Lucifer was busy flipping through a small stack of papers, but he offered you a brief glance and a cool, “Good morning,” once you had settled. </p><p>“Good morning,” you said back. </p><p>Neither of the other brothers acknowledged you, Satan absorbed in a book and Beelzebub too preoccupied with heaping an incomprehensible amount of food onto his plate. Was it physically possible for him to actually eat that much? Because if it was, that was kind of terrifying. </p><p>You turned your attention to the dishes laid out in front of you. Some of them looked familiar; there were omelets and toast and a pitcher of what you assumed was orange juice. Other things were... Questionable. Bits and pieces of unfamiliar creatures, weird colors, odd smells. You hesitated to take anything, unsure of what was even safe for you to consume.</p><p>“It’s not poisonous.”</p><p>You almost jumped at the sound of Satan’s voice. He had lowered his book, and his eyes, a striking shade of blue-green, were on you. </p><p>“The food,” he clarified, expression somewhere between amused and indifferent. “You can eat it. Well,” he pointed to one of the jars of jam next to the toast, “not that. But everything else should be fine.”</p><p>You nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”</p><p><em>Satan: still seems like a decent person</em>, you added to your mental profile of the brothers while gingerly placing one omelet and a spoonful of some kind of fruit slices onto your plate. The omelet wasn’t bad, but definitely didn’t taste like it was made with any type of eggs you had ever tried. The fruit left an unpleasant, bitter flavor on your tongue. </p><p>Beelzebub must have noticed your reaction to it, because he paused shoveling food into his mouth just long enough to say, “If you don’t like it, I’ll take the rest,” his fork already poised to snatch it from your plate. </p><p>“Sure.” You pushed it towards him and he wasted no time adding it to his breakfast pile. </p><p>“Watch it, or he’ll take the rest of your food, too,” Mammon warned. </p><p>You quickly retracted your plate.</p><p>The next few minutes passed in relative silence (no one spoke, but Beelzebub made plenty of noise inhaling his meal) and you took the time to look around the dining space. It felt like you were in a castle. Everything was gilded and ornate, from the finely wrought details in the table and chairs, to the elegant, golden motifs spanning the walls. A row of arched windows let in light from the ever-present moon. At one end of the room, a large statue of a skeletal figure cloaked in flowing robes sat on a ledge overlooking the space. </p><p>This house was by far the most beautiful, extravagant building you’d ever set foot in. Just calling it a house felt like doing it a disservice. </p><p>“Oh, good morning, MC!”</p><p>Asmodeus’s sing-song voice pulled you from your thoughts. He waltzed into the room carrying a tray of muffins, which Beelzebub promptly set into the instant it hit the table.</p><p>You grabbed a muffin (it was still warm; had he just made these himself? Did he make all the breakfast food? You hadn’t seen any staff or servants around) and returned the greeting.</p><p>“Hey, I’m here, too!” Mammon complained.</p><p>“Yes, I was ignoring you.” Asmodeus flashed a smile your way, much to his brother’s chagrin. </p><p>“If you wanna act all chummy with the human, why don’t <em>you</em> take care of ‘em, huh?”</p><p>“It’s much more entertaining to watch you suffer.”</p><p>“You’re a real—,”</p><p>“Actually,” Lucifer interrupted, immediately silencing the two, “I have a task for both of you today involving MC. I want you to take them into town to purchase a uniform and anything else they need for their stay.”</p><p>Mammon nearly choked. “What!? I’m not gonna waste my money on them! And why do I even gotta go if Asmo’s gonna be there?”</p><p>“I’m not expecting you to pay for anything,” Lucifer said. “For one thing, that would require you having any money to spend, which we all know you don’t.”</p><p>This remark earned a dirty look from Mammon, but no comeback. Was the physical embodiment of greed broke? </p><p>“For another,” Lucifer continued, “Lord Diavolo has provided funds for their supplies. As for both of you going, it’s your responsibility, Mammon, but I can hardly trust you not to spend the money on yourself, so Asmo will be supervising.”</p><p>“<em>Him</em> supervising <em>me?</em> I’m older than him!”</p><p>“You’re also dumber than me,” Asmodeus said.</p><p>“And scummier,” Satan added.</p><p>“And just useless in general.”</p><p>“All right!” Mammon threw his hands up. “Gimme a break! Whatever, I guess I’ll do it! Not like I have a choice.” </p><p>“No, you don’t,” Lucifer agreed.</p><p>You silently thanked him for providing Asmodeus as a buffer. If Mammon couldn’t go five minutes in your presence without acting like his life was ending, you doubted an extended one-on-one outing would go well. </p><p>“Well <em>I</em> think it’ll be fun,” Asmodeus said. He sipped delicately from a coffee mug, amber eyes locked on you with a disconcerting level of intensity. “I’ll get you all fixed up with a perfect new wardrobe, dear, and I know a shop with the best skincare—,”</p><p>“Hey, hey, hey,” Mammon interjected, “I’m the one in charge of this trip, I’m gonna decide where we go!”</p><p>Asmodeus cocked a brow at him. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with it?”</p><p>“I—well—,” Mammon fumbled over a response before settling on, “If I have to go, we’re at least gonna do it my way! Besides, no one wants clothes from the kind of places you shop at, Asmo. The human’s going to RAD, not one of your weird ass sex clubs.”</p><p>Asmodeus dismissed him with a wave. “I wouldn’t bring them to the club anyway, they’d get eaten alive.” He gave you a sly grin. “Unless you’re into that, in which case I’d be glad to take you—,”</p><p>“No,” Lucifer said without looking up from his papers. </p><p>Asmodeus huffed. “You’re no fun.”</p><p>“So I’ve been told.” </p><p>You couldn’t help but smile at the deadpan way Lucifer rebuffed his brothers. It was kind of funny, even if he didn’t intend it to be. </p><p>Asmodeus plucked a few more pieces of food from the rapidly dwindling plates on the table (in answer to your earlier question: yes, it really was possible for Beelzebub to eat that much). “I’m ready to go whenever you are, Mammon. The earlier we get started, the more places we can get to.”</p><p>Mammon heaved a sigh. “Yeah, whatever. Let me finish my food.”</p><p>The rest of the meal wrapped up without incident. Lucifer handed Mammon an envelope when you all stood to leave, along with a stern reminder that he was <em>not</em> to spend it on himself, or else. </p><p>“Not even a little? The human doesn’t need that much stuff…”</p><p>“<em>Mammon</em>.”</p><p>“Okay! Jeez.” He slipped the envelope into a jacket pocket and turned to you. “Come on, then, let’s get this over with. I got things to do.”</p><p>“No you don’t,” Asmodeus said. He rounded the table and stepped right up into your personal space, looping an arm around yours and leaning down to not-whisper in your ear, “He’s always cooking up schemes to make money, but they never work.”</p><p>If he noticed you stiffen at the sudden proximity, he didn’t comment.</p><p>“Sometimes they work!” Mammon argued. </p><p>The two bickered back and forth as you made your way out of the dining room. From the sound of it, Mammon was not only broke, but also in a considerable amount of debt. You got the sense that the harsh insults Asmodeus was heaping on him for it weren’t anything he hadn’t heard before. Still, it was a little uncomfortable to listen to. </p><p>“I’m telling you, the thing with the shoes would have taken off if—Levi!” Mammon broke off mid-rant at the sight of someone coming your way. </p><p>The stranger glanced up, but didn’t stop walking. He looked annoyed.</p><p>“You really took your time. Beel probably finished everything off by now,” Mammon said.</p><p>Asmodeus lifted your arm like you were a prize he’d won at the fair. “Levi! The human is here!”</p><p>“I don’t care.”</p><p>Ah. Well. Another charming first impression.</p><p>The mystery demon—Levi, presumably one of the two brothers you hadn’t met yet—slouched past without another word.</p><p>“That was Leviathan,” Asmodeus explained. “He’s the third oldest. Don’t worry about him. He hardly leaves his room, anyway.”</p><p>Mammon scoffed. “Sorry excuse for a demon, that’s what he is.”</p><p>“You’re one to talk.”</p><p>“Fuck off!”</p><p>And just like that, they were fighting again. You held back a sigh. </p><p>This was going to be a long day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was planning on making this and the next chapter one single, longer chapter, but I figured I'd rather post shorter stuff more regularly than take forever to put up longer ones. So unless I happen to write a lot really quickly, this will probably be about the chapter length I'll stick to. Thanks for reading!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Shopping</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You get some new clothes. Asmo extols the virtues of a good moisturizer. Mammon gets picked on.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hate writing the brothers bullying Mammon I just want to steal him away and give him a hug</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Um… no, I don’t think so.”</p><p>You shook your head at the fourth shirt Asmodeus had presented to you in as many minutes. You weren’t sure if he genuinely thought sheer mesh and latex were appropriate casual wear or if he was just trying to get a reaction out of you, but either way, most of his suggestions so far had gone right back onto the rack. </p><p>“Are you sure? It would look so cute on you!”</p><p>You eyed the garment. ‘Cute’ was not the first word that came to mind. </p><p>“Would you knock it off already?” Mammon said, snatching the shirt out of his brother’s hands and tossing it on a random shelf. “You’re just picking out stuff that <em>you</em> want.”</p><p>“At least I’m doing <em>something</em>, you haven’t stopped sulking since we left.”</p><p>“I’m not sulking!” He crossed his arms over his chest, then seemed to realize that crossing your arms and shouting definitely looks like sulking, and uncrossed them again. “All I’m here for is to pay for the human’s stuff and make sure they don’t get eaten, not play dress up with them.”</p><p>“Then why do you care if I pick things out?”</p><p>“Because you’re wasting my time, that’s why!” Mammon said, and walked off towards the other end of the store to <strike>sulk</strike> browse. </p><p>Asmodeus didn’t bat an eye. “You’ll get used to his little tantrums,” he said when he saw you looking in the direction Mammon had gone. “He likes to make a big deal out of everything. Oh! Here.” He handed you another shirt, this time made of a normal material with a normal amount of fabric. </p><p>The relief you felt must have shown on your face, because he laughed; a light, bubbly sound that had you smiling even though it was at your expense.</p><p>“I know you didn’t want any of those other things. You’re just so cute when you get flustered, I couldn’t help but tease you a little!” He patted your head the way a pet owner might do with a particularly adorable puppy, and despite feeling some mild embarrassment and irritation, you didn’t mind too much. There was no malice behind his words. Being treated like a fun plaything didn’t exactly thrill you, but it was preferable to outright hostility. </p><p>Mammon reappeared every few minutes to comment on your choices as you continued through the store. Most of it was criticism (“Really? Lord Diavolo himself is paying for you, and <em>that’s</em> what you get?”) but he did offer one or two legitimate tips, like mentioning that a brand of jeans you’d picked up ran small, or that you’d be better off buying shoes at a different store because this one marked up all the prices. He seemed to know a lot about shopping, which made sense, with the whole greed thing. </p><p>You were actually grateful to have him there during those moments. You made sure to thank him sincerely when he bothered to be helpful, hoping that maybe if he knew you appreciated it, he’d be a little nicer. He brushed it off every time, but you did notice the number of constructive comments increase. Still scattered between a significantly higher number of insults, but. Small victories. </p><p>Once clothes were out of the way, including your RAD uniform, Asmodeus very enthusiastically pulled you into a store where the scent of soaps and perfumes hung so heavy in the air you could practically taste it. </p><p>“Ugh, I feel like I’m choking on flower petals,” Mammon said, echoing your own thoughts. He pulled the envelope from Lucifer out of his jacket and handed it to Asmodeus. “I’m gonna go across the street and look at those new watches I saw online.”</p><p>“Don’t try to run away early, Lucifer won’t be very happy!” Asmodeus called after him. </p><p>Mammon dismissed him with a wave, already out the door. </p><p>Asmodeus tsked. “He should have stuck around; I swear he’s been using the same body wash for at least two centuries. It wouldn’t kill him to put in some effort.” </p><p>The casual declaration of two hundred years left you blinking. Before you had much time to wonder on it, Asmodeus took your chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned your face side to side, humming in thought, before giving your cheek a gentle pat.</p><p>“I know some products that should work well for your skin! We’ll get a routine all set up for you.”</p><p>You at least vaguely comprehended the purposes of most of the things he handed you over the next thirty minutes. Once skincare was wrapped up, he led you through aisles of bath products (“If you want to try any of them out, there’s plenty of room for two in my bath”), ending with the more essential items like shampoo and conditioner (“Let’s stay away from the food-scented ones, I’m sure poor Beel is tempted enough as it is”). Half of what you ended up leaving with seemed fairly unnecessary, but you hadn’t had the heart to interrupt Asmodeus when he was clearly enjoying himself so much. It’s not like it was money out of your pocket, anyway. </p><p>“Time to see if Mammon actually stuck around,” he said as the two of you emerged back onto the busy street, shopping bags in hand. </p><p>You crossed to the storefront on the opposite side and stepped in. It looked more trendy and upscale (and expensive) than the places you’d been to so far. </p><p>“Ah! There.” Asmodeus pointed towards the right side of the room, where Mammon’s silvery white hair stood out against the rack of dark clothes he was sorting through. “Mammon!”</p><p>He glanced up. “One minute!”</p><p>“Why does he—is he buying something?” Asmodeus asked, more to himself than to you. “He must have snuck some money out of the envelope before he gave it to me. Lucifer’s going to kill him.”</p><p>Sure enough, Mammon made his way to the counter, and when he returned it was with a conspicuous new piece of bling on his wrist. </p><p>“Took you long enough,” he complained. “Is it time to go home yet?”</p><p>Asmodeus responded by knocking him upside the head with the back of his hand.</p><p>“Ow! What the hell was that for?”</p><p>“You idiot. You really couldn’t control yourself for five minutes?”</p><p>“You guys were in there for a lot longer than five minutes! And I still don’t know what you’re talking about!”</p><p>“The money, stupid! You just had to waste it on something for yourself!”</p><p>One of the other customers in the store cast a surreptitious glance at the brothers. You tried very hard to turn invisible. </p><p>“You’re the stupid one, I gave you the money! How did I spend it if I didn’t even have it?”</p><p>“You took some out, obviously.”</p><p>“I did not! I have my own money, you know!”</p><p>Asmodeus snorted. “Right. Don’t expect me to help you when Lucifer strings you up and tortures you for this.”</p><p>You hadn’t planned on getting involved in their little spat, but the way Mammon paled at the mention of torture (and seriously, what the fuck, <em>torture?</em> Was he serious?) tugged at your heart enough that you spoke up.</p><p>“We can just count the money.”</p><p>They both turned to you like they had forgotten you were even there. </p><p>“Hm?” Asmodeus asked.</p><p>Mammon fixed you with an unreadable expression for just a moment. It was gone too quickly for you to guess at, replaced by the brash arrogance you’d already come to expect from him. </p><p>“Yeah! Just count it!” Then to you, he added, “Maybe you’re not as dumb as you look.”</p><p>The small amount of sympathy you’d been feeling for him evaporated. </p><p>Asmodeus rolled his eyes, but held a hand out to you. “MC, let me see the receipts.”</p><p>You fished them out of the bags and handed them over. He added up the totals, flipped through the remaining bills in the envelope, did the math, and sighed.</p><p>“It’s all there.”</p><p>“HA!” Mammon jabbed a finger at his chest. “I told you! Maybe you should learn to listen to me!”</p><p>“Whatever. MC still needs school supplies, so let’s go.” </p><p>“Hey!” Mammon followed him back onto the street, with you trailing behind. “I’m expecting an apology!”</p><p>“Why would I apologize? It’s not like it was unrealistic for me to assume you stole the money.” </p><p>“You should apologize because I’m your older brother and I deserve some respect!”</p><p>Asmodeus groaned. “Mammon, I’m sorry that for once in your life I happened to be wrong about you stealing money.”</p><p>As far as apologies go, it was pretty abysmal, but apparently it was enough to placate Mammon. </p><p>The two of them didn’t bicker quite as much for the rest of your outing. At times they acted downright, well, brotherly. Watching their moods towards each other flip flop like this was liable to give you whiplash. They made sure you had the rest of the supplies you needed to at least start off the year, and Asmodeus even shared a bite of some pastry he bought from a street vendor on the way back to the House of Lamentation (the caveat being you had to let him feed it to you).</p><p>Despite the Mammon’s degrading comments and Asmodeus’s overly friendly behavior, and despite the embarrassing way the two of them argued in public, it was actually kind of a fun afternoon. Sure, you were still anxious and uncomfortable and a little terrified in general about the exchange student situation as a whole, but this had been an encouraging step forward, and you found yourself smiling as you crossed the threshold into the dorm. </p><p>And then someone started shouting. </p><p>“MAMMON!”</p><p>All three of you looked up to see Leviathan glaring down from the landing at the top of the stairs. </p><p>“I’ve been waiting for you to get back so you can’t run off and hide somewhere! I want my money, NOW!”</p><p>Asmodeus dropped the single bag he had opted to carry into your arms. “Well, I have somewhere to be. Bye-bye, MC!” </p><p>He was gone before you even had a chance to protest. Seeing one brother flee the scene, Leviathan stormed down the staircase before the other could make an escape. You hoped that maybe whatever was going on here was just a misunderstanding like earlier, and they could just argue for a bit and then settle it without the situation devolving into a fistfight or anything else equally as hazardous to your health, but if the burning hatred behind Leviathan's eyes was anything to go by….</p><p>You doubted it would be that easy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the kind comments! I'm having a lot of fun with this and am thinking up some little twists and things I can apply to the story to keep it interesting. I'm going to try to post at least one chapter a week, but they're short enough that I'll probably to manage two most of the time. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Levi Has a Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Levi wants his money. Mammon doesn't have it. You get roped into a scheme.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leviathan hadn’t looked very imposing when you’d first seen him dragging his feet to breakfast, but standing in front of you now, drawn up to his full height, anger radiating from his body…</p><p>You took a step back. </p><p>“Mammon, give me my money, now.”</p><p>“Come on, I told you I’d get it to you!” Mammon rubbed the back of his head in a way that didn’t suggest confidence. “I just need a little more time.”</p><p>“‘A little more?’” Leviathan repeated. “How much more?”</p><p>“A little more, okay? A little more means a little more!”</p><p>“You’ve been telling me that for the last two hundred years, Mammon.”</p><p>“I think it’s been closer to two hundred sixty, but…”</p><p>Leviathan made a disgusted sound. “Unbelievable. Seriously, you’re—,”</p><p>“I’m what?” Mammon cut him off. “I’m scum? Is that what you’re gonna say?”</p><p>“You’re a lowlife and a waste of space. I wish you’d crawl into a hole and die.”</p><p>You winced on Mammon’s behalf.</p><p>“Hey! Come on, that’s awful harsh!”</p><p>“I don’t care. Just give me back my money. I need it to buy the Blu-ray box set of <em>Journey to the Devildom: The Tale of a Little She-Devil and her Reluctant Companion.</em> The initial round of copies include promotional tickets to a live event as a special bonus!”</p><p>Blu-ray? So they had to do a weird, demon-themed off brand version of cell phones, but Blu-ray was fine?</p><p>“I’ve got no idea what you’re even talking about, Levi. But it doesn’t matter anyway, because I can’t pay you back right now! You’re just gonna have to wait!”</p><p>Leviathan pushed into Mammon’s personal space. It almost felt like the air around you crackled with an electric current.</p><p>“So you’re telling me you refuse to pay me back?”</p><p>Mammon didn’t back down, leaning in until the two of them were nose to nose. “You looking for a fight? Is that it?”</p><p>For a few impossibly long seconds, no one moved. You were sure they must be able to hear your heart beating.</p><p>“Hey, human,” Mammon said without taking his eyes off his brother. “Remember last night, when I told you if a demon attacks, you either run or you die?”</p><p>Oh shit. Oh <em>shit</em>. </p><p>“Well, I hope you know how to run, ‘cause if one of us has to die, it ain’t gonna be me!”</p><p>And then, faster than any creature had any right to be, he bolted. You just barely caught sight of him disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall to your right.</p><p>“Dammit!” Leviathan cursed. “That ass!”</p><p>He turned to you. Your grip around the shopping bags tightened. </p><p>“Do you realize what just happened? Mammon used you as a sacrifice. That was pretty dumb of you to let him do.”</p><p>Dumb of <em>you?</em> It’s not exactly like you could have stopped him.</p><p>Leviathan sighed. “This is exactly why humans are—wait a second.” The disinterested look he had been giving you turned into something more curious. “Humans… I’ve got an idea. Listen, are you free right now?”</p><p>You started to say you needed to drop all these bags off in your room, but didn’t make it past the first syllable.</p><p>“Of course you are! You’ve gotta be! You know what, nevermind, it doesn’t matter. Either way, you’re coming with me.”</p><p>He grabbed your arm and took off. You scrambled to keep up, thoughts racing, unable to even imagine what he could possibly have in store for you. Was he going to take his anger out on you like a human punching bag? Tear you to pieces and eat you to relieve stress? Force you to somehow earn the money Mammon owed him?</p><p>You nearly slammed into his back when he stopped abruptly in front of a closed door. He glanced up and down the hall, and, satisfied with whatever he saw (or didn’t see), opened the door and yanked you inside, slamming it behind you.</p><p><em>Blue</em>. That was the first thought to cross your mind once you got a look at the room he’d pulled you into, followed closely by, <em>holy crap, it’s all water</em>. A massive glass tank spanned not only the entire far wall, but the ceiling as well, casting the room in a cool, soft glow and dancing shadows, as if it were all underwater. Luminous jellyfish lanterns strung over the center of the space heightened the illusion. It was beautiful and serene and not at all what you had expected from the volatile demon in front of you. </p><p>Also unexpected, although for completely different reasons, was the abundance of video game and anime paraphernalia cluttering every available surface. Figurines, DVDs, posters, consoles, games… </p><p>“What are you staring at?” Leviathan snapped.</p><p>You weren’t sure which to comment on first—the fact that he lived in an aquarium or the fact that they made anime in Hell. You settled with, “Your room is really cool.”</p><p>He literally jumped backwards. You had never seen such an exaggerated display of surprise outside a cartoon. </p><p>“What!? You—you’re just saying that because you think I’m mad at you!”</p><p>“No! I’m serious. The water is really pretty and it’s... cool to see all the stuff you’ve collected.”</p><p>Honest to God, he blushed. He immediately threw up a hand to conceal his face, the same golden eyes that had been boring into you seconds before now looking anywhere but. </p><p>“Well… Don’t get used to it, okay!? I only let you in here because I didn’t want anyone to overhear my plan.” He regained some composure, dropping his hand to point accusingly at you. “Imagine what would happen if someone saw me inviting a human into my room, especially a normie like you! Do you know what people would say!?”</p><p>You were so stricken by hearing someone use the word “normie” unironically that you didn’t answer right away. “Um… No?”</p><p>“They’d never stop mocking me! My credibility as an otaku would be ruined!”</p><p><em>Otaku?</em> Jesus. This guy had terrified you just moments ago, but it was becoming harder and harder to take him seriously with every word that left his mouth. Your gaze wandered around the room again as he went off on a tangent about his reputation and normies and some character named Ruri-chan. A nearby bookshelf caught your eye, packed with volumes of manga and thick fantasy novels, a few of which you actually recognized.</p><p>“Hey, human, are you even listening to me?” </p><p>You turned your attention back to Leviathan. “Yes,” you lied, “I was just looking at the books.”</p><p>His annoyed expression vanished, replaced by bright-eyed excitement. “Oh! Some of them are from the human world! Do you know TSL?”</p><p>“No, I’ve never heard of it.” You considered lying in an attempt to get on his good side, but figured he’d probably be able to call you on it.</p><p>He looked at you like you’d just admitted to peeing in his giant fish tank. “Excuse me? You don’t know TSL? And you call yourself a human!? How have you not heard of it!? Just the fact that you don’t know TSL alone is proof that you’ve been wasting your life, so I’m going to do you a favor and teach you! Make sure you pay attention!”</p><p>Leviathan then proceeded to spend the next ten minutes lecturing you about <em>The Tale of the Seven Lords</em>. It was actually kind of endearing, seeing how enthusiastic he got about it. His description of the seven lords also reminded you that you still had yet to meet the seventh brother here. If the current conversation were a little less one-sided, you might have taken the opportunity to ask about it, but Leviathan was carrying on with such fervor he barely paused to breathe. </p><p>“...and then there’s this one really awesome moment where the two of them realize how much they both like and respect each other, and they high five! I love that part! I wish I could have a moment like that.” His smile faltered. “...I wish I could be like the third lord. I may be a recluse like him, but we’re totally different, because he has an amazing friend like Henry.”</p><p>He looked to the wall of water on the other side of the room. “See the goldfish in there?”</p><p>You didn’t, but you nodded anyway.</p><p>“He’s actually named Henry. I love TSL so much, I couldn’t help but name him after the main character. But… I can’t really high five a goldfish…”</p><p>The same feeling you got when you heard everyone ragging on Mammon rose in your chest. Just like Mammon, Leviathan hadn’t exactly been kind to you so far, but the pitiful look on his face still made you want to reach out and comfort him. </p><p>He recovered quickly, though, launching into a tirade about how jealous it made him that the author of TSL was human, and how unfair it was that humans got to have things like… anime streaming services and maid cafes? </p><p>“All right, enough. This is starting to depress me,” he sighed. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you here to tell you about TSL.”</p><p>Thank goodness. You were getting tired of standing awkwardly in the doorway being talked at. He could at least let you sit down somewhere. </p><p>“You spent some time with Mammon, so I’m sure you’ve realized what a scumbag he is. But I’ll say it anyway, because it’s important: Mammon is a hopeless, worthless scumbag! I lent him money, and now he won’t pay me back. I wish I could force him, but even though he’s a worthless waste of space, he’s still the second oldest. I’d never stand a chance against him.</p><p>“This all goes back even further, though. Let me tell you the story of how Mammon and I first became enemies.”</p><p>Leviathan started pacing as he began to recount the story of what he perceived as his brother’s greatest slight against him. It involved some sort of collectible figurine, because of course it did. You shuddered at his description of Mammon’s garbage-strewn bedroom, where Leviathan had ventured in the dead of night to steal the precious item, and had to stifle a laugh imagining him being knocked unconscious by a nude pile driver when Mammon found him there. </p><p>“So you see why I can’t do anything myself,” Leviathan concluded. “But if, say, a <em>human</em> made a <em>pact</em> with Mammon, and bound him to their service, then he’d have to do whatever that human told him to.”</p><p>He stepped closer to you, eyes sparkling with a devious sort of excitement. “Which means that if you make a pact with Mammon and then ordered him to give me back my money, he would have no choice but to do it!”</p><p>You waited for him to explain, but for once he was giving you a chance to respond. </p><p>“...What’s a pact?”</p><p>“It’s… a pact? With a demon?” He blinked at you, brows drawn together in confusion. “Haven’t you seen it in movies and all that? The demon lends his strength to a human in exchange for their soul.”</p><p>“Wh—I don’t want to do that!”</p><p>Leviathan didn’t seem to think it was all that big a deal. “I mean, it doesn’t necessarily have to be your soul, but you need to offer the demon <em>something</em> to make it worth the exchange, so it’s usually inevitable,” he shrugged. “But if you don’t want to give up your soul, I’ll tell you how you can negotiate with Mammon.</p><p>“And by the way, it’s not like this would be a bad deal for you, either. You’re probably worried about being here in the Devildom. Having Mammon as your servant would be useful. He may be awful, but he’s still a powerful demon, you know?”</p><p>You struggled to come up with a reply. Everything kept happening so fast down here. First you were dragged into this whole situation with no warning, then the very next morning you were on a shopping spree and Asmodeus kept offering to have sex with you, and now this? You’d only been here for a single night, and someone was already trying to coerce you into bartering away your soul? It probably shouldn’t have surprised you—they were demons, after all—but the fact that it was just part of a scheme to get a few bucks and an anime figurine made it a little insulting. “Even if there’s something else I can give him, I don’t know if I could manage to do it.”</p><p>“Hey, don’t give up before you even try! I thought humans weren’t quitters! I thought your kind had guts, resolve!” </p><p>Leviathan gave you a surprisingly genuine pep talk (although it did go off the rails slightly with an extended comic-con analogy), and then promptly ruined it by finishing with, “If I’m being honest, though, I don’t really care what you think. What’s important is that I have a plan, so shut up and listen.”</p><p>You pursed your lips, annoyed, but kept quiet.</p><p>“If you just walk up to Mammon and ask him to make a pact with you, he’ll never agree. You need some leverage. A bargaining chip.” Leviathan grinned at whatever bit of hidden knowledge he was about to take advantage of. “You’re going to offer him something he wants so badly, he’d do <em>anything</em> to get it.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this chapter probably wasn't very interesting, since it pretty much just follows exactly what happens in the game for this section, but we have to get it out of the way! Thank you for reading, I should have the next chapter up shortly! ^_^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Pact</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You tackle your first day at RAD. Lucifer is inscrutable. Levi gets his money.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My apologies if you find obvious mistakes, this was written and published from my phone and only briefly proofread at 3 AM. :P</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The key to forcing one of the most powerful demons in existence into a pact ended up being…. a credit card. A very special credit card, Leviathan assured you (so special that it had an affectionate nickname), but a credit card nonetheless. Lucifer had confiscated it some time ago after getting fed up with Mammon’s out of control spending. No one knew where it was hidden, and no one ever tried to find out, whether due to indifference or fear of incurring Lucifer’s wrath.</p>
<p>But lucky you! Leviathan had deemed you expendable, and tasked you with fishing for information. Your little meeting in his bedroom yesterday ended with specific orders:</p>
<p>“He can’t suspect anything. You’ve got to be subtle, like it happened to come up naturally. Got it? Make sure you do a good job! ...Or else!” </p>
<p>And then he threw you out of his room and slammed the door behind you. The hastily added threat at the end didn’t exactly inspire fear, but you were already scared enough of everyone here regardless that it didn’t matter much.</p>
<p>So, great. Today was your first day of classes, and on top of having to deal with navigating the campus and avoiding hordes of demons who you had been told multiple times would not hesitate to kill you, eat you, and/or steal your soul, you also had to interrogate the most terrifying man you’d ever met.</p>
<p>How were you supposed to casually bring up Mammon’s credit card? You’d barely exchanged a few sentences with Lucifer; to suddenly ask about something like that would undoubtedly raise his suspicions. </p>
<p>You fastened the last button on your uniform with a sigh. Whatever. You’d cross that bridge when you got to it, and if it went badly then maybe Leviathan would reconsider forcing you to be a reconnaissance agent. </p>
<p>The time rolled around when Mammon had come to show you to breakfast yesterday morning, but today there was no irritated demon banging on your door (you waited a few extra minutes just to be sure), so you grabbed your backpack and headed to the dining room by yourself. </p>
<p>Mammon and Leviathan were the only two missing when you got there. Teetering stacks of pancakes covered the table, most of them gathered around Beelzebub, only his red hair visible over the wall of food. </p>
<p>“Oh, you look so cute in your uniform!” Asmodeus cooed as you took a seat. </p>
<p>“Thanks.” You still weren’t exactly sure how to respond to his comments. There had been a lot of them during your shopping trip, and you’d politely, if somewhat awkwardly, accepted the compliments, while playing off—very awkwardly—the more <em>salacious</em> remarks. It wasn’t that you necessarily minded the attention, you just didn’t know how genuine any of it was and didn’t appreciate being embarrassed if he was just teasing you. </p>
<p>You surveyed the table to see what culinary mysteries this morning had in store. The pancakes seemed normal, and no one stopped you when you added something that resembled bacon to your plate, so you assumed at least those components were human-safe. There was some kind of black and neon green fruit that you didn’t even bother asking about—it looked downright radioactive. </p>
<p>Lucifer regarded you over his coffee cup as you assembled your meal. “Are you prepared for your first day at RAD, MC?”</p>
<p><em>Absolutely not</em>, you thought. “As much as I can be, I guess,” you said. </p>
<p>“I’m sure you’ll manage. Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance if you find the course work challenging.” Under his breath, more to himself than to you, he added, “Mammon’s grades are enough of a disgrace, I can’t have anyone else failing.”</p>
<p>Satan snorted. “I don’t think anyone could perform as poorly as him if they tried.”</p>
<p>“It does feel like he makes an active effort to be a terrible student, doesn’t it?” Lucifer agreed. </p>
<p>Mammon chose that moment to make his entrance. As if to prove his brother’s point, his uniform was rumpled and unbuttoned, shirt untucked, tie loose. He sank into the chair next to you with a yawn and claimed a stack of pancakes before Beel could add it to his own pile. </p>
<p>“Mammon,” Lucifer said.</p>
<p>“Mph,” Mammon grunted through a mouthful of food. </p>
<p>“Walk MC to school and ensure they arrive safely at all of their classes.”</p>
<p>The way Mammon made an indignant noise with his mouth still full of pancake and the withering look he received from Lucifer in return reminded you more of a beleaguered mother and her unruly child than of two brothers.</p>
<p>“Come on!” Mammon whined. “You really think someone’s gonna try to eat them at RAD?”</p>
<p>“No, because you’re going to walk them to school and ensure they arrive safely at all of their classes.”</p>
<p>You held back a grin while Asmodeus and Satan snickered. </p>
<p>The rest of breakfast passed in much the same way yesterday’s meals had, with some minor bickering—mostly involving Mammon—some conversation—mostly carried by Asmodeus—and some unpleasant sounds—entirely caused by Beelzebub eating. When Mammon eventually rose to leave, he heaved a sigh and glanced at you.</p>
<p>“Come on, then. If we get there early at least less people will see me dragging some lame human around.”</p>
<p>Asmodeus let out one, derisive laugh. “You act like you have a reputation to maintain.”</p>
<p>“I do! Just ‘cause you lot don’t respect me doesn’t mean no one does!”</p>
<p>“Mhm. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”</p>
<p>Mammon muttered something that sounded like “asshole” and snatched his backpack roughly off the floor before striding out of the room, leaving you scurrying to gather your own things and follow. Beelzebub was already reaching for your plate as you left. </p>
<p>You caught up with Mammon near the front entrance of the house. </p>
<p>“I’m not planning on playing chaperone for you,” he said once you fell into step behind him. “If you’re too stupid to get to your classes without dying, it’s not my problem.”</p>
<p>It probably very much <em>would</em> be his problem, actually, considering he had explicit orders to keep you alive, but you let him carry on without comment. Spending yesterday shopping with him taught you that he mostly just seemed to want someone to listen—whether or not you agreed with what he had to say didn’t matter as much, he just wanted you to hear him say it. </p>
<p>“There’ll be too many people around all the time for anyone to try anything, anyway,” he continued. “Unless you wander off into an empty classroom or something. So don’t do that. And if Lucifer asks, you tell him I was with you all day! If I get punished for not babysitting you, the only demon you’re gonna have to worry about is <em>me</em>. I’ll tear your legs off and eat them so you can’t leave the house and I won’t have to deal with watching you anymore. You hear me?”</p>
<p>“Okay,” you said. </p>
<p>That was enough to pacify him. The two of you walked in silence for several minutes, the relatively secluded setting of the House of Lamentation gradually giving way to a more populated area as you approached the RAD campus. Groups of demons in student uniforms milled about, many casting curious glances your way. </p>
<p>“What classes do you have, anyway?” Mammon asked, his tone slightly less brusque than before. </p>
<p>“Oh, um, I wrote it down.” You dug a folded piece of paper from your pocket and handed it to him. You’d noted your weekly schedule on it, including times and locations, to avoid having to pull out the entire syllabus Lucifer had provided you with every time you needed a reminder of where you were going. </p>
<p>Mammon studied the sheet and handed it back. “Hm. Your class after lunch is next to mine, so I guess I’ll see you to that one, at least. Just because we’re going to the same place.”</p>
<p>“All right, thank you.”</p>
<p>He scoffed. “It’s not like I’m doing it to be nice or something.”</p>
<p>“I know, but still. Thanks.”</p>
<p>Your insistence left him looking somewhere between annoyed and confused, but he let the subject drop. That was also something you’d noticed during your shopping trip. Being nice, even to a minimal degree, flustered him. You could make assumptions as to why that might be (and given the way you’d seen his brothers treat him during the short time you’d been here, you had some ideas), but regardless of the reason his mood always seemed to soften afterward, so you had decided to make a specific effort to be nice to him. When he wasn’t being too much of a jerk, at least. </p>
<p>You both entered the main building together. It was a huge, sprawling stone structure, majestic and imposing and immediately overwhelming. Last night you had tried to memorize a map of the place. All the towers and courtyards and halls blurred together in a useless jumble in your mind now.</p>
<p>Mammon wasted no time in leaving you to fend for yourself. “Good luck, don’t die,” he said, and slipped away into the crowd of students bustling through the lobby, a lot of whom stared openly at you with expressions ranging from inquisitive to predatory. </p>
<p>You took a deep breath. Too many people around for anyone to kill you, Mammon had said. You clung to that thought, praying it was true, and set out to find your first classroom. </p>
<p>After more than a few wrong turns, it became apparent that you had no clue where you were going. You stepped off to one side of the hallway, out of the flow of traffic, and pulled out your DDD to consult the map. </p>
<p>Two demons on the other side of the hall watched you with interest. They traded gossip about you and your current living situation, either not thinking you could hear them or not caring, and you did your best to ignore it until the conversation took a concerning turn. </p>
<p>“It doesn’t look like Mammon’s watching them. If we take them now, he wouldn’t know it was us.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure? Someone else might rat us out, maybe we should wait.”</p>
<p>“Nah, the sooner the better. We should eat them before Beel does.”</p>
<p>You clutched your DDD so tightly your hand shook. Should you run? If you made it to your classroom you’d be safe, but what if you fucked up the directions again and got lost? Should you call someone? Mammon? Lucifer? </p>
<p>“Hey.”</p>
<p>You nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of a voice right next to you. The man who’d spoken chuckled.</p>
<p>“You know, standing around looking so terrified, you’re practically begging for one of these demons to eat you. Your name’s MC, right?”</p>
<p>You regarded him with a wary eye. “Yeah.”</p>
<p>“What’s with that look? There’s no need to be suspicious. I’m Solomon, the other human exchange student. Nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>He offered a hand, and you shook it. He still had a smirk on his face from scaring you. </p>
<p>“So why are you all alone? Aren’t you supposed to have Mammon looking after you?”</p>
<p>You grimaced. “Supposed to, yeah.”</p>
<p>Solomon chuckled again. “I guess he is more of a liability than an asset. I’m not sure I can think of anyone less suited to a role like that. Lucifer must be trying to mess with you.” His smirk stretched to a full grin. “Ha! I don’t envy you for that. Still, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>You were about to question his apparent familiarity with the brothers when his gaze drifted to a point over your shoulder and his grin tightened. </p>
<p>“I’d better get going. I’ll see you around, MC. Take care of yourself.”</p>
<p>His reason for departure joined you seconds later. Lucifer, unfairly elegant even in a school uniform, watched the other human’s retreating form with narrowed eyes. </p>
<p>“I see you met Solomon.”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Did he get here before me? He seems like… he knows what’s going on more than I do.”</p>
<p>“Solomon is familiar with the Devildom. He may be a mere human, but he’s a powerful sorcerer. He’s the type of man who would try to subjugate even a powerful, greater demon if he got the chance.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” was all you could say to that, because up until that moment you didn’t know sorcerers were even a thing that existed. </p>
<p>“It’s fine if you associate with him, since you’re both human, but know that he can’t be trusted.”</p>
<p>Great. The only other human in this entire place, and you couldn’t even bond over being stuck down here, powerless and afraid, because he was apparently neither of those things. Why did they even invite him if he was so shifty?</p>
<p>Lucifer glanced around the hall. “Mammon shirked his duty already?”</p>
<p>“Um…” You struggled to come up with an excuse for why he wasn’t with you, knowing his threat to rip your legs off was likely hollow but not wanting to piss him off anyway, but you drew a blank. </p>
<p>“I wish I were surprised. He has an incredible talent for failing even the simplest tasks. Even Levi would have done a better job at this.”</p>
<p>Oh, shit, Leviathan. In all the chaos of trying to find your way to class and the panic of hearing someone planning to kill you, you had forgotten your mission to interrogate Lucifer about Mammon’s credit card. </p>
<p>Something must have shown on your face (that or Lucifer could read minds), because his gaze turned scrutinizing and he said, “You look like you have something to say.”</p>
<p>You wracked your brain for any way at all to bring up the card. Lucifer waited patiently while you started a few sentences, then abandoned each of them one or two words in. It was pointless. You were confident he would see right through anything you said.</p>
<p>So… If that was the case, fuck it. Might as well just tell the truth. Maybe he would be so surprised by you just asking outright that he would give you an answer. “Leviathan wants me to ask where Mammon’s credit card is.”</p>
<p>Lucifer quirked a brow. His expression came off as somewhere between amused and disapproving, but it was hard to tell for sure. The man did not like to emote. “Why does Levi want Mammon’s credit card?”</p>
<p>“To use as leverage to make Mammon pay back some money he owes him.”</p>
<p>You assumed the exhale-through-the-nose thing Lucifer did upon hearing this was probably his dignified, refined version of an exasperated sigh. </p>
<p>“And he thought I would just tell you?”</p>
<p>Well. That was what you had hoped. “I mean, he didn’t actually want me to <em>ask</em>, he wanted me to… finesse the information out of you. But I didn’t think that would work.”</p>
<p>A small, decidedly condescending smile crossed Lucifer’s face. “It wouldn’t have. It was bold of you to try, though.”</p>
<p>By this time, the throng of students around you was beginning to thin out. Class would probably be starting any minute. </p>
<p>“As long as Mammon has money, he’ll spend it,” Lucifer said. “There are no limits with him, so I had to impose limits of my own. I froze that card.”</p>
<p>A shrill ringing sound cut off anything else he might have revealed. The remaining students in the vicinity picked up the pace to wherever they were going. </p>
<p>Lucifer smirked in a way that said if this conversation was a competition, he had won. “There’s the first bell. Don’t be late.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~~~~~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hours later—after school, after dinner—you collapsed into bed, grateful to finally be able to relax. Your classes that day, while difficult, had not been a disaster, and with enough hard work you were sure you could get through them with decent grades. As for your safety, your proximity to the brothers did seem to be working in your favor, and if anyone else was planning to eat you, they at least had the decency to discuss it out of earshot. </p>
<p>At dinner, Lucifer let Mammon know that the way he blew you off at RAD had not gone unnoticed. Mammon glared at you, but you hadn’t received any angry texts or calls and he hadn’t come banging on your door, so either Lucifer killed him or he decided not to tear your legs off after all. </p>
<p>Then there was Leviathan. You’d heard nothing from him all day, and were starting to wonder if he might have forgotten the whole credit card scheme when your DDD chimed with a message notification. </p>
<p><strong>Leviathan:</strong> Well???? Did you find out where the card is???</p>
<p><strong>You:</strong> No, he just said he froze it</p>
<p><strong>Leviathan:</strong> Wait, froze? Are you absolutely sure that’s what he said?</p>
<p><strong>You:</strong> Yeah, like he locked the account</p>
<p><strong>Leviathan:</strong> Come to the kitchen<br/>
<strong>Leviathan:</strong> Right now<br/>
<strong>Leviathan:</strong> And don’t tell anyone what you’re doing! I don’t want anyone mistakenly thinking I’m hanging out with some human normie </p>
<p>You stared at the screen. Why the kitchen? If he wanted to berate you for failing his mission, it was an odd place to meet. At least it was just next door. Even though you lived in the House of Lamentation, you still felt like a trespasser roaming the halls. </p>
<p>You put on the fluffy pair of slippers Asmodeus had insisted on during your shopping trip—you were grateful for them now, the stone floors got cold—and padded to the kitchen. The refrigerator door was wide open when you stepped inside. To no surprise, Beelzebub’s face popped up at the sound of your entry. </p>
<p>“Oh. It’s you.” He went back to digging around the fridge. “Why are you in here so late?”</p>
<p>You went with the easiest lie. “I just wanted some food.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m taking everything in the fridge, so you’ll have to look somewhere else.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Now you needed a different excuse. “Is there any tea or anything here?”</p>
<p>“In that cupboard,” he pointed. “Don’t take the kind in the red box, it’s Satan’s favorite.”</p>
<p>“Okay. Thank you.”</p>
<p>You rifled through the cupboard for a flavor with the least demonic sounding ingredients and set a kettle on the stove to boil. After a few minutes, Beelzebub finished his raid on the fridge and went to leave, the last of the food piled in his arms, and you suddenly remembered that you had a question you’d been thinking about asking someone. </p>
<p>“Beelzebub?”</p>
<p>He paused in the doorway. “Just Beel is fine. What is it?”</p>
<p>“Is there another one of you guys that I haven’t met yet?”</p>
<p>The look on his face instantly made you regret bringing it up. A mix of anger and… sadness? Pain? You simultaneously feared for your safety and felt bad that you had somehow upset him. </p>
<p>“We’re not supposed to talk about him,” Beel said. “Lucifer will get mad. We have to act like he doesn’t exist, even though he’s our brother….”</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely a sore spot. As much as you wanted to pry, it was clearly not the thing to do in this situation.</p>
<p>The sad look in Beel’s eyes hardened. “It’s not any of your business, anyway, human. Don’t bring it up again, especially not around Lucifer.”</p>
<p>He left, mumbling something under his breath about finding more food. You pondered his non-answer about the mysterious seventh brother as the kettle came to a boil. It almost sounded like he had been disowned. What could a demon do that even other demons would look down on so strongly? </p>
<p>You didn’t get much time to think about it before Leviathan showed up. (Or just Levi? You had been avoiding calling any of them by a nickname in case they got mad at you for being too familiar, but if Beel had given you the OK then maybe it was fine for all of them.) He double checked that no one was coming down the hallway before actually entering the kitchen. </p>
<p>“All right, I saw Beel leave, so we should be good for a while. I can’t have anyone seeing me with you.”</p>
<p>You opened your mouth to say that the two of you did in fact live in the same house, but he continued:</p>
<p>“So Lucifer definitely said he froze the card, right? Those were his exact words?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” You took the kettle off the burner only to realize you had no idea where the cups were. </p>
<p>Levi threw the freezer door open with all the excitement of a child tearing the wrapping paper off a gift on Christmas morning. “Then it has to be here!”</p>
<p>“...In the freezer?”</p>
<p>He ignored you, head and shoulders shoved fully inside the appliance. “There’s just a bunch of ice… I don’t see—oh!” He emerged with a very, very freezer burnt carton of ice cream. “Satan hid this from Beel, like, a century ago. I totally forgot about that.” It went right back in. “Heh. I’m not about to tell him.” </p>
<p>Several more seconds passed of Levi rummaging around and you were considering telling him that Lucifer probably didn’t mean he literally, physically froze Mammon’s credit card, when he let out a triumphant, “Aha!” and dragged out a big chunk of ice.</p>
<p>...With a credit card stuck inside. Well, damn. Maybe Lucifer secretly had a sense of humor. </p>
<p>Levi popped the microwave open and shoved the ice inside with some difficulty. “I’m going to put it in here to thaw.”</p>
<p>That seemed like a bad idea. “I don’t think you should—,”</p>
<p>“Levi?” You both turned to see none other than Mammon standing in the doorway. Talk about shitty timing. “What are you doing hanging out in the kitchen with the human?” </p>
<p>“We’re not hanging out!” Levi snapped, neglecting to block the microwave from view. </p>
<p>Obviously, Mammon saw it. “Why are you microwaving a bunch of ice?”</p>
<p>“None of your business, idiot! Go away!”</p>
<p>Mammon narrowed his eyes. “You hiding something, Levi?”</p>
<p>“N-no!”</p>
<p>“Yeah you are! What is it?” Mammon took a few steps closer and gasped. “That looks like… Goldie! My baby! Why’d you put it in the microwave, you moron!? It’s gonna demagnetize it!” </p>
<p>“Oh, right!” Levi hit the stop button.</p>
<p>“Why would you do something so stupid!? You’re a real dumbass, you know that!?” Mammon rushed forward to retrieve his precious card, but Levi blocked his path. </p>
<p>“Are you sure you should be talking to me like that? After all, <em>I’m</em> the one who found the credit card. Do you want me to give it back!”</p>
<p>“You better give it back, or I’ll bust your head open and take it myself!”</p>
<p>Levi shrunk back slightly. The plan was supposed to be to secure the card and <em>then</em> confront Mammon, so Mammon still wouldn’t know where it was and Levi could use that information to force him into a pact. But now, with the card within his reach, all Mammon had to do was beat down his little brother to get to it.</p>
<p>Levi glanced at you. And then he grabbed your arm and yanked your body in front of his. “You can’t hurt the human! Lucifer will kill you!”</p>
<p>You really hoped that was enough of a threat to keep Mammon from breaking you in half, because that’s what it looked like he wanted to do. </p>
<p>“Hiding behind a <em>human?</em> What kind of pathetic, sorry-ass demon are you?”</p>
<p>“It’s not pathetic, it’s a strategy!” Levi’s grip on your arm tightened to a degree just shy of painful. You tugged against him, but he didn’t even seem to notice. “Now back off, or I’ll turn the microwave on again!”</p>
<p>Mammon made a frustrated sound. “Okay! Jeez, come on, don’t do that. Just give me the card, please? Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you!”</p>
<p>“That’s better,” Levi smirked, awfully smug for someone still clutching his human shield. “If you want your card back, you have to give me the Seraphina figure you won in that convenience store contest.”</p>
<p><em>That</em> hadn’t been part of the plan. </p>
<p>“The Sera… what? What are you talking about, I don’t remember winning anything.”</p>
<p>You were definitely going to have bruises where Levi’s fingers were digging into your arm.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe this!” he cried. “You forgot that you even have her! How could you!?”</p>
<p>Mammon looked about ready to tear his hair out. “Ugh, whatever! I don’t care, you can have it! You can have whatever you want, just give me Goldie!”</p>
<p>“All right, but there’s one more condition.” Levi paused, presumably for dramatic flair. “I want you to make a pact with this human.”</p>
<p>“Sure, I—wait, <em>what!?</em>” Mammon sputtered. “A <em>pact!?</em> Why do you want me to make a pact!?”</p>
<p>“Because then MC can order you to give me the money you owe me, and since you can’t refuse a direct order from your master, you’ll have to do it,” Levi said. “Game over, I win!”</p>
<p>“I don’t believe this. It’s just money, Levi, what’s the point in going through all this trouble?” Mammon tried to come off as indifferent, but his eyes kept flickering back to his credit card in the microwave. </p>
<p>“Excuse me? ‘It’s just money?’ You’d do just about anything for a few grimm, Mammon!”</p>
<p>“Oh, shut up! And you, human!” Mammon jabbed a finger at your chest. “What are you thinking, letting him use you like this? Are you stupid?”</p>
<p>“What am I supposed to do?” you asked, straining ineffectively against Levi’s grasp to illustrate just how powerless you were in this situation. </p>
<p>“You’re supposed to take my side! You’re supposed to say, ‘Hey, Levi, stop being such an asshole and give Mammon his credit card back already!’”</p>
<p>“Why would they do that?” Levi said, which was exactly what you had been thinking. “They wouldn’t help a lousy scumbag like you. Now, are you going to make the pact or not?”</p>
<p>“Uh-uh! No way!” Mammon shook his head. “I’m the Great Mammon, Avatar of Greed, one of the seven rulers of the Devildom! Do you actually think I’d ever let some <em>human</em> control me?”</p>
<p>Levi cupped his free hand to his mouth and shouted towards the hallway. “LUCIFER! MAMMON FOUND HIS CREDIT CARD!”</p>
<p>The mere idea of the eldest brother becoming involved was enough to strip the ‘Great Mammon’ of his bravado in an instant. “Shhhh! No! Shut up! I’ll do it, all right? I’ll do it!” </p>
<p>“Then hurry up! I don’t have time to wait around all night!”</p>
<p>Mammon huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. It was just like back in the store with Asmo—he really did sulk a lot. “Make a pact with me.”</p>
<p>He didn’t offer his hand to shake or pull out a contract to sign, or do anything besides glare at you. Was that really all there was to it? “...Okay,” you said.</p>
<p>For a brief moment, your entire body buzzed with a pins-and-needles sensation. It faded as quickly as it came, leaving you feeling no different than normal despite now having an intimate bond with a powerful demon.</p>
<p>“Don’t go getting a big head now, you hear me?” Mammon griped. “Just because we have a pact doesn’t mean we’re buddies or nothing, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean you can boss me around!!”</p>
<p>“That’s exactly what it means, stupid,” Levi said. He turned to you. “Tell him to give me the Seraphina figure, and all the money he owes me.”</p>
<p>You glanced at Mammon. He was scowling at the floor, still looking angry, but defeat dampened the fire in his eyes. The realization that you now had the ability to control him in such an absolute way honestly made you a little uncomfortable. Levi was waiting for you to deliver orders, though, so you did.</p>
<p>“Give him the figure and the money.”</p>
<p>The words sent a current through some deep, unidentifiable part of you. It was like feeling a muscle that you hadn’t even known existed before now suddenly flex. </p>
<p>If Mammon’s wince was anything to go by, he felt something similar.</p>
<p>“Your stupid toy is in my room,” he grumbled, much to Levi’s delight, and stormed out without further comment. </p>
<p>Levi didn’t even bother to thank you as he followed after him (and really, why did you expect him to?). You were left alone in the kitchen, the proud owner of one new demonic pact that you: 1. Hadn’t wanted, 2. Didn’t wholly understand how to use, and 3. Already felt guilty about after approximately two minutes. </p>
<p>And you still had an entire year ahead of you.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ah! We’re back! Sorry for the delay, life got a little hectic. This chapter also just gave me a hard time—whenever I sat down to write it, either nothing would come out, or I’d just keep going and going but never finish it (which is why it’s twice as long as the previous chapters, lol). </p>
<p>Hopefully I will have more for you soon, but as you can tell I make no promises. Thank you for reading!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. A Discussion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Beel eats a plate. Lucifer congratulates you on your new pact. You and Mammon argue.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope this makes literally any sense because I’ve read it and re-read it to the point where the words don’t seem real anymore</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, you were surprised to find Levi already at the breakfast table when you walked in, while Lucifer’s chair sat empty. Your two days of living in the House of Lamentation so far had given you the impression that Lucifer was always prompt to arrive at meals and that Levi tended to drag his feet. Two days wasn’t a very long time, though; maybe you were wrong.</p><p>As you took a seat and started examining that morning’s food, Asmodeus laughed at whatever he and Satan had been talking about before you showed up. You’d heard him giggle before, but this was actual, whole-hearted laughter. </p><p>“Keep your voice down,” Satan chided him. “If Mammon hears you, he’ll get upset again, and we won’t hear the end of it.”</p><p>Asmodeus waved him off. “Eh, he won’t be down for a while. I don’t know how you’re <em>not</em> laughing—I mean, come on, it’s <em>Mammon,</em> and a human played him like a fiddle and forced him into a pact!”</p><p>Satan did his best to maintain a stony expression, but after only a few seconds he had to put a hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh. </p><p>“See, you think it’s funny, too!”</p><p>You sank a little lower in your chair. Knowing that Mammon was upset about the pact was enough; finding out he was being mocked about it only made you feel worse. Especially since he’d probably take his anger out on you. </p><p>“Anyway.” Asmo plucked up a slice of fruit and took a delicate bite before turning to you. “MC, I have to say, I’m—,”</p><p>
  <em>CRACK.</em>
</p><p>Beel stabbed his fork down into the huge slab of meat on his plate with so much force that it shattered the dish, and then he just kept shoveling it into his mouth, shards of glass and all. </p><p>Levi swatted him on the arm. “Beel, calm down, you’re eating the plate.”</p><p><em>Crunch.</em> “Mm.” </p><p>“<em>Anyway</em>,” Asmo repeated, “MC, I was saying, I’m surprised that an average human like you would be able to make a pact with Mammon—certainly not this fast. It’s easy to forget, with the way he acts, but he is still a powerful demon.” He picked up another slice of fruit between his perfectly manicured fingers and made direct eye contact with you while running his tongue down the length of it. “I guess they really knew what they were doing when they chose you for this exchange program, huh?”</p><p>You felt your face heat up. “I didn’t really do anything…”</p><p>“There’s no need to be humble about it,” Satan said. “We’re not upset. Honestly, it’s pretty funny.”</p><p>It wasn’t actually very funny at all from your position, but if no one was mad at you (aside from Mammon, of course), you weren’t about to argue. </p><p>Levi grinned at the handheld game console he was playing. “All I know is that I finally got my money back, so I couldn’t ask for a better outcome! I should’ve rounded up a human and done this sooner!”</p><p>“You know, that reminds me,” Asmo said, “what I find even more surprising than MC managing to make a pact with Mammon is the team-up with Levi that made it happen. Don’t you think?”</p><p>Satan nodded. “I never thought I’d see the day when a human won over Levi.”</p><p>“Excuse me!?” Levi tore his attention away from his game to glare incredulously at Satan. “Don’t go getting the wrong idea! Nobody ‘won me over!’ Our interests just happened to align, that’s all!”</p><p>You wondered what interest of yours he meant by that, since the only thing you had been particularly interested in at the time was not getting killed. </p><p>“Our relationship was purely business!” Levi continued. “I—I wouldn’t even call it a relationship! Because it wasn’t! I mean, why would I want anything to do with some <em>normie</em> of a human!? I wouldn’t! I—,”</p><p>“All right, we get it,” Asmo interrupted.</p><p>Levi quickly buried his face—slightly red—back in his video game. </p><p>Much to your dismay, Asmo turned his attention to you again. Whereas Lucifer’s stare made you feel like every thought in your head was being laid bare before him, with Asmo it felt like he could specifically see what he needed to say to fluster and embarrass you. “You know, if MC keeps this up, the rest of us might just find ourselves in a pact with them as well, if we’re not careful.” </p><p>His tone was joking, but something sharp lurked behind the teasing grin. </p><p>“If you had your choice, which one of us would you forge a pact with next, MC?”</p><p>Nope, you were not touching that question with a ten foot pole. There was no right answer there. ‘Which one of us immensely powerful, ageless entities would you subjugate next—and keep in mind, you’re stuck here for the next year and we know where you sleep. Teehee!’ </p><p>“I don’t think I need any more pacts,” you said, hoping that was the response least likely to get you eaten by anyone. </p><p>Asmo pouted for a second like you’d ruined the punchline of his joke, but almost immediately went right back to his usual suggestive smirk. “It’s all right, I know you’re just too shy to admit you’d pick me. Who wouldn’t, after all? Humans simply can’t resist something so beautiful and alluring.” </p><p>If you were pressed to make a choice, you’d probably actually go with Satan, but you let Asmo have his moment. </p><p>“Unfortunately for you,” he said, “I’m not the least bit interested in forming a pact. You won’t be able to tame any of us as easily as you did Mammon. In fact, it’s quite offensive to put us on the same level as that poor excuse for a demon.”</p><p>Unbeknownst to Asmo, the demon in question had walked through the doorway behind him just in time to hear that last comment. Mammon made his presence known with a swift slap to the back of Asmo’s head.</p><p>“OW!” Asmo shot his attacker a furious glare. “Mammon! Not even <em>Lucifer</em> has ever struck me like that! What if one of your rings had caught in my hair!?”</p><p>“That’s what you get for calling me a poor excuse for a demon, asshole,” Mammon said, yanking out the seat next to you and dropping onto it with a huff. “I oughta hit all of you, the way you talk about me. You all think you’re so great.”</p><p>Satan picked idly at his breakfast. “It’s not that we think we’re so great, we just think you’re a complete and utter fool.”</p><p>“Well I’m not! So give it a rest!”</p><p>“Serves you right, Mammon, lol,” Levi said (yes, actually <em>said</em> the letters LOL out loud, in a real life conversation. Incredible). </p><p>“I hate you guys,” Mammon muttered. “You know, none of this would have happened if it weren’t for Lucifer! It’s all because that bastard took my credit card from me! Just snatched her away—kidnapped her!”</p><p>Levi grimaced. “Ugh. Don’t talk about it like it’s a person. It’s gross.”</p><p>“Mhm,” Asmo nodded, “it really is.”</p><p>“Shut UP, both of you!” Mammon attacked the food on his plate with such violence you thought there might be another Beel incident. His stormy demeanor calmed a little after getting a few bites of food in him. </p><p>“I can’t believe my card was in the freezer this whole time. Who does something like that? Was it supposed to be some sorta dad joke? ‘Cause if it was, that’s one of the lamest things I ever heard.” Dwelling on that thought seemed to lighten his mood considerably. “Eh, I guess maybe I should have expected something like that from him. I mean, he’s not a dad, but he’s pretty old, isn’t he? Guess I shouldn’t be surprised he’s a fan of dad jokes. Ha!”</p><p>“You think?”</p><p>You nearly jumped a foot out of your seat at the sound of Lucifer’s voice behind you. Mammon’s smile fell right off his face.</p><p>For the second time that morning, blows were exchanged at the breakfast table. </p><p>“FUCK! Ow!” Mammon clutched the side of his head in pain. “You didn’t have to hit me that hard!”</p><p>Lucifer ignored him and poured a cup of coffee. “MC,” he said. “I heard about what happened. Apparently you outfoxed my dimwit brother and forged a pact with him.”</p><p>Everyone really was giving you too much credit for this whole pact thing. You started to wonder if they even knew what went down, or if they’d just gotten vague details from Levi and Mammon and filled in the gaps on their own, because you’d hardly call being used as a human shield “outfoxing” anyone. </p><p>Lucifer’s eyes slid closed as he took a long pull of coffee, giving you a momentary reprieve from his piercing stare. “Your opponent may not have posed much of a challenge, but even so, you’ve only just arrived. It’s a real accomplishment managing a feat like that in such a short amount of time. Well done.”</p><p>And oh, how something fluttered inside you at those words. Maybe it was the thought of being praised by the physical embodiment of pride itself, maybe it was just the feeling of having a very attractive man with a very attractive voice say nice things to you. Whatever it was, you folded it up and stuffed it in a box and hid it in the back of your mind. You were <em>not</em> going to develop a crush on any of these demons, especially not the scariest one. </p><p>“I imagine Lord Diavolo will be pleased as well. We continue to expect big things from you.”</p><p>You were just starting to ponder what those “big things” might be and how much trouble they would cause you when Mammon suddenly stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder.</p><p>“Hey, human, come on. Time to get going.”</p><p>You looked between him and everyone else still eating breakfast, confused. </p><p>“Don’t just sit there with your head in the clouds! Let’s go!” He grabbed your arm and pulled you upright, giving you just enough time to snag your own backpack before dragging you out of the room. </p><p>“Seriously, what is <em>with</em> Lucifer?” he complained once the two of you were safely out of earshot. “He can’t go five minutes without bringing up Diavolo. It’s always Diavolo this, Diavolo that. If Diavolo told him to go jump off a cliff, he probably would!”</p><p>You added, <em>wants his big brother’s attention</em> to your mental profile of Mammon. Also, <em>possibly overinvested in his work relationship</em> to Lucifer’s. For a family of demons, they had some remarkably human issues. </p><p>“Anyway,” Mammon continued, “ever since you got here, it’s been one bad thing after another for me. As if wasting my time following you around wasn’t enough of a pain in the ass, now everyone’s on me about this stupid pact.”</p><p>He didn’t say anything more as you approached the House of Lamentation’s front door, and you thought he might have just decided to stew silently rather than rant at you. But just before the exit he stopped walking and spun to face you. The degree of anger on his face caught you off guard.</p><p>“Make sure you get this through your head. I’m not gonna come to your rescue if some demon decides to make a meal outta you. Pact or no pact, I don’t care. You’re <em>not</em> my problem.”</p><p>You could only blink at the sudden vitriol. Every other time he had complained about all this, it had been more irritation directed at the situation itself, but this was genuine anger pointed straight at you. “I don’t—,”</p><p>“You don’t what?” Mammon interrupted. “You don’t have a brain in that head? You don’t wanna be here anymore? Just shut up. I’m not gonna listen to some fucking human.”</p><p>At that, the patience you had been holding together surprisingly well since arriving in the Devildom finally snapped. Here you had been worrying about this asshole’s feelings, trying to think of a way to help him avoid the indignity of the pact and the scorn of his brothers, and he couldn’t even care less whether you lived or died. </p><p>“I have a name,” you said. It came out less confidently than you would have liked, but you said it.</p><p>Mammon raised his brows in mock surprise. “Oh? You do? Well I guess I better call you by your name from now on.” He scoffed. “You think I give a shit what your name is? I’m calling you ‘human’ because that’s all you are, so you better learn your place and stop talking back to me like that, or I’ll eat you myself.”</p><p>He stepped towards you, and you instinctively took a step back, only to be met with cold stone. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Mammon sneered. “You scared?”</p><p>He came closer. You pressed against the wall, debating whether or not this was just a show to intimidate you or if you were actually in danger. You wanted to believe he was faking, but the way his eyes flashed—hard, cruel power—kicked your flight or fight response into gear. </p><p>“Listen, if you just do what I tell you,” he said, reaching out to… what? Cage you in? Lay a hand on your shoulder? Choke you?</p><p>You flinched away. “<em>Don’t!</em>” </p><p>It was more of a plea than a command, and you hadn’t even been thinking about invoking the pact when you said it, but you felt that twinge of something deep inside as the word slipped out, and Mammon instantly recoiled. </p><p>“Wh—hey!” Like flipping a switch, the cold, predatory aura around him evaporated. So it <em>was</em> just an act. Knowing that almost made you more upset than if he had genuinely been threatening you. You were already plenty afraid of everyone here; putting on a show like that was some real unnecessary bullshit.</p><p>Before Mammon had a chance to regain his composure, you took advantage of the moment to gather up all your frustration and anger and let it out.</p><p>“I didn’t ask to be here! I’m sorry you hate having me around so much, but I can’t do anything about it, so instead of making me feel like shit, why don’t you complain to your brother, since he’s the one who put you in charge of me!”</p><p>Mammon opened his mouth to argue (and you could tell it was definitely going to be to argue), but you kept on going, just like everyone else here did to you. </p><p>“You’re acting like the pact is my fault, when I didn’t want it any more than you did! I didn’t even know what was happening!”</p><p>Something that looked like hurt crossed Mammon’s face before being swept up in a tide of anger. “What, am I not good enough for you!? You don’t wanna have a pact with a scummy low life like me, is that it!?”</p><p>“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable!” </p><p>Whatever retort Mammon had prepared died on his lips. Confusion edged into his expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”</p><p>You took a deep breath. Your bright flare of fury was already fading, taking your will to fight with it. Now you just wanted to de-escalate the situation. “Thinking about someone being able to control me like that is scary. I wouldn’t want to be in that position, and I don’t want to put anyone else there, either.” When Mammon didn’t respond right away, you added, “And I feel bad that you’re getting made fun of for it. If there’s a way to reverse it, I’m okay with that.”</p><p>He stared at you with a look you couldn’t quite place. The confusion was still there, for sure, but there was something… softer underneath it. He quickly smoothed it all over with the arrogant scowl you’d gotten used to seeing. “You really are stupid.”</p><p>You slumped against the wall. For a second there, it had almost felt like you were about to make some progress. </p><p>“No! That’s not—I didn’t mean it like that.” Mammon waved his hands in front of him in a panicked way, like he was trying to physically erase what he just said. “What I meant is, it would be stupid to throw out something so good for you. We don’t just hand out pacts to anyone who asks, you know?”</p><p>“All you’ve done is complain about it, though. I thought you would be glad I was willing to break it.”</p><p>“Well, I mean…” Mammon scratched the back of his head. “Of course I’m glad, but I’m telling <em>you</em> that you’d be a real blockhead to give up such a sweet deal on account of just <em>feeling bad</em> about it. You’re gonna need all the help you can get down here.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “And anyway! Breaking a pact’s more trouble than it’s worth.”</p><p>“Oh.” Well, that was at least somewhat of a relief. If there wasn’t a feasible way to get out of the pact, you didn’t have to feel bad about keeping it in place. “I’ll try not to use it.”</p><p>He snorted. “Then what’s the point of having it?”</p><p>“Do you <em>want</em> me to use it?”</p><p>“I—well—no! I’m just saying. What kind of human gets a pact with someone like THE Mammon and doesn’t even use it?”</p><p>You shrugged. “If anyone tries to kill me, I’ll tell you to fight them off. How about that?”</p><p>“Hmph. I guess. Just don’t make me do anything stupid, all right? My brothers would never let me live it down…”</p><p>The obvious response to that was, “you don’t need me to make you do anything stupid,” but at risk of ruining the moment, you held back. Instead you just said, “Deal,” and held out a hand. </p><p>Mammon did not shake it. “Psh. Don’t be getting all friendly, now. Just because I decided not to eat you doesn’t mean we’re buddies.” He pulled out his DDD and checked the time. “We better get going. Come on, hu—,” he started to say, and then caught himself. “MC.” </p><p>The bar couldn’t possibly be any lower, but you smiled nonetheless. The two of you resumed your walk to campus, and as Mammon turned away, you could almost swear his cheeks were just a little red.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I actually already have most of the next chapter written, so hopefully it won’t take me long to finish and post! Thank you for your kind comments and thank you for reading!! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Strange Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The angels are introduced. Simeon is radiant. You have a nightmare.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wahoo I got this done quick</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite your little heart-to-heart, Mammon was quick to abandon you again once you reached the main building at RAD. Luckily your first class today was easier to locate than the one you’d gotten lost trying to find yesterday, and you managed to arrive in one piece with time to spare. </p><p>As you got settled and started pulling supplies from your backpack, two demons were having an audible conversation a few tables over. </p><p>“Did you hear what happened with that human? Apparently they made a pact with Mammon.”</p><p>“Seriously? Why would he do that? I don’t get the point, they’re just an ordinary human.”</p><p>Jeez. It hadn’t even been a full day and everyone already knew. Levi must have been bragging about it online or something for the news to have spread so far so quickly. </p><p>Another comment came from slightly behind you. “Hm. Whenever you make an important announcement, the demons here couldn’t care less. But rumors… they really do spread like wildfire.”</p><p>You glanced up when the speaker stopped next to your table—a demon in an altered RAD uniform, with a tailcoat and cummerbund instead of the usual jacket and belt. He regarded you with a slight smile. “Just when I thought the uproar about the human exchange student had started to subside, now everyone is at it again.”</p><p>A somewhat familiar voice responded from your other side. “I’d say that all the gossip is a good thing.”</p><p>You turned to see the man responsible for your presence here, Lord Diavolo, approaching, with Lucifer following a few steps behind. Diavolo stopped at the opposite end of the table from the mystery demon and flashed you a grin that seemed far too boyish and mischievous for someone in such a major position of power. “With everyone watching MC, it will be hard for any demon to go after their soul when no one is looking.”</p><p>“Since Mammon isn’t doing a very good job as guardian,” Lucifer added. “Although I figured that would happen.”</p><p>Diavolo’s grin widened. “Speaking of, I must say, I can’t believe you managed to form a pact with Mammon, MC. That’s no small feat! And what’s more, you did it in such a short time.”</p><p>Lucifer had mentioned at breakfast that Diavolo would probably be pleased, but you still weren’t sure why he was so happy about it. Shouldn’t it have been worrying that you had one of the most powerful people in the realm under your thumb after only a couple days?</p><p>The first demon hummed in agreement. “I suppose it stands as proof that you chose well bringing this human here, Lord Diavolo.”</p><p>You looked back at him. That barely-there smile was still fixed on his face.</p><p>“Ah, pardon me. We haven’t met before, have we?” he asked. When you shook your head, he continued, “My name is Barbatos. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I have the honor of serving as steward to Lord Diavolo. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”</p><p>“Barbatos here is a smart, talented individual,” Lucifer said. “Sometimes I wish I could trade one of my brothers for him.”</p><p>He didn’t specify which brother, but it didn’t take much to guess. </p><p>Barbatos inclined his head in polite acceptance at the compliment. “You know, in the human world, it is sometimes said that a truly wise man does not flaunt his talents. He keeps them secret.” </p><p>“Yes, but an incompetent fool doesn’t have any talents to begin with.”</p><p>“Well <em>I’ve</em> heard it said that the most thick-headed child is always the cutest,” Diavolo chimed in. </p><p>Lucifer made a face like the idea caused him physical pain. “Please. It’s troublesome enough having him as a brother. But my child? <em>Him?</em> I don’t even want to think about it.”</p><p>“Ah, but I notice that you didn’t deny the part about him being cute, did you?” This quip came from yet another guest strolling up to your table—a man in a black and white outfit you could only describe as “sexy mage,” or maybe “stripper priest,” with a high collared, skintight bodysuit, exposed shoulders, hipbone windows, and a long, elegant cloak. “If I might offer my own opinion, out of all you seven brothers, you’re without a doubt the most troublesome, Lucifer.”</p><p>Lucifer didn’t look amused. “Is that meant to be a compliment?”</p><p>A smaller person suddenly leapt out from behind the newcomer. “Of course not!” he cried. “That was a put-down! An insult! He’s taunting you!”</p><p>The… child? Was dressed in a similar shade of white as the man, but his outfit was more reminiscent of a little Victorian boy, complete with neck ruffle and capelet. </p><p>“Ah,” Lucifer said, “I see you’ve brought your chihuahua along with you.”</p><p>The boy bristled like an angry kitten. “I am NOT a chihuahua! How many times do I have to tell you that, demon!”</p><p>You marveled at the nerve of this kid to mouth off to Lucifer in such a bold way. Lucifer didn’t even seem to mind. </p><p>“Well, what do you expect? You said it yourself—I am a demon, after all.” He leaned down with a smirk. “Now then, stop yipping at me. C’mere boy… shake! Who’s a good boy?”</p><p>“Quit it! Don’t make fun of me!” The child’s hands balled into fists at his sides, his big blue eyes shining with righteous indignation. “And don’t tell me to shake! I’m not a dog!”</p><p>Diavolo cut in with a chuckle. “Allow me to introduce you, MC.” He gestured to the sexy mage. “This is Simeon. He’s an exchange student from the Celestial Realm. Which is to say, he’s an angel.”</p><p>Oh, shit. Your face immediately went hot with embarrassment—you had definitely been staring at those hip windows. And his abs. And his shoulders. Why the hell was an angel dressed like that? </p><p>Simeon smiled at you and your heart melted. “Hello, MC. I’ve heard a lot of rumors!”</p><p>Diavolo saved you from having to choke out a response by continuing onto the smaller boy. “And this is Luke. Let’s see, you’re… a chihuahua, was it? Or are you an angel?”</p><p>“Wh…! Diavolo, now you’re doing it, too? I am NOT a chihuahua!” Luke punctuated the statement with a stomp of his foot. “I’m an angel!” He rounded on you, as if to prevent any chihuahua business before you could think about joining in. “Listen up! As you can probably tell, I’m a low-ranking angel. But I’ll have you know that in the Celestial Realm I report directly to Michael the Archangel, as—,”</p><p>“Luke, calm down.” Simeon placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You need to learn not to make such a huge fuss about everything.”</p><p>“But Simeon…”</p><p>“He’s right,” Lucifer said. “That’s exactly why people call you a chihuahua, you know?”</p><p>Luke jabbed an angry finger in Lucifer’s direction. “Usually the only one who calls me a chihuahua is YOU, Lucifer!”</p><p>You got the feeling this may have gone on for some time if Barbatos hadn’t politely cleared his throat and informed everyone, “It’s nearly time for the first bell to sound.”</p><p>Simeon put a hand to his beautiful, well-defined chest. “Yes, you’re right. I apologize for interrupting your morning, MC. It was lovely to meet you. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again!”</p><p>You gave him a small wave goodbye as he left, very much hoping that was true. </p><p>Diavolo flashed you another sparkling grin as he also turned to go. “I’m relieved to see that things seem to be going well for you here. I’ll continue to check in, so please let me know if there’s anything I can do to improve your stay!”</p><p>“And look after Mammon for me, would you?” Lucifer added over his shoulder. </p><p>You heard Barbatos comment just before their group exited the classroom. “As I remember it, Mammon is supposed to be the one looking after MC, correct?”</p><p>“Yes, that’s how I remember it as well. Your point?”</p><p>And then you were alone again. Or, you would have been, were it not for the smaller angel, Luke, still lingering next to your seat. </p><p>He murmured something under his breath too quietly for you to catch. </p><p>“Um… sorry?”</p><p>He frowned (more than he already was) and leaned in closer. Even with you sitting down, he wasn’t that much taller than you. “Never trust a demon,” he repeated. “Especially when that demon is Lucifer. Listen to me. He’s a monster and a brute. He’s uncivilized, and immoral, and… and…” </p><p>You could practically see the gears turning in his head as he struggled to come up with another similarly insulting adjective. </p><p>“Sadistic?” you offered.</p><p>“Yes, exactly! He’s the most sadistic of sadists!” Luke cast a disdainful glance around the room. “I was against this from the beginning. What were they thinking, bringing humans to the Devildom as exchange students…” He straightened up and stepped back. “So, you’ve been warned. You get what I’m saying, right?”</p><p>At a loss for what else to do, you just nodded.</p><p>“Good.” Luke swept out of the room with his chin raised and chest puffed, presumably trying his best to look like an imposing celestial being and not just a little boy in a funny hat.</p><p>The rest of the day passed without issue. You did end up having a class with both Simeon and Luke, where you learned that Simeon was incredibly easygoing and made for very pleasant company, and that he had a dry sense of humor that you hadn’t expected from an angel. Not that you were sure what to expect from an angel in the first place. Luke, on the other hand, was a high-strung ball of emotion, but when he wasn’t ranting about how terrible demons are he was actually pretty sweet. </p><p>You also noticed that Mammon hadn’t <em>completely</em> abandoned you. Between classes, you caught sight of him multiple times at the opposite end of hallways or across rooms, casting furtive glances in your direction. Whenever he saw you looking he quickly turned his attention elsewhere and tried to look busy. </p><p>Once again: If the bar were any lower, it would be underground. But <em>some</em> effort was better than <em>no</em> effort, so you appreciated knowing that Mammon was paying any attention to your well-being at all, however minimal. </p><p>Back at the House of Lamentation that evening, Beel was in charge of dinner. You had never seen so many sandwiches in your entire life. And they had some kind of… <em>legs</em> in them? Putting cooked up body parts from a freaky Devildom creature in your mouth was not something you were eager to do, but you weren’t about to be an ungrateful guest, especially considering the nature of your hosts, so you closed your eyes and took a bite and tried not to think about what you were eating. </p><p>...It was actually pretty good.</p><p>You let out a surprised sound at this discovery, softly enough that you didn’t think anyone would be able to hear.</p><p>Beel heard it, apparently. “Do you like it?” he asked. </p><p>“Yeah! It’s good.”</p><p>The smile he gave you was so sweet, you grabbed seconds. </p><p>After dinner, you retired to your room and worked through a couple of the introductory assignments you’d been given for class, then settled into bed to watch Deviltube videos for a while before calling it a night. You’d already gotten fond of one particular channel that made very calm, simple cooking videos. Whether or not you were ever actually going to use the recipes was up for debate, but it was at least helping you get a little bit of a better idea of what the food here was like. </p><p>Sometime around the fourth video, you drifted off. </p><p>The dream you found yourself in was hazy and unremarkable. You wandered through a setting made of bits and pieces of random places from your memories, progressing a storyline that made sense in the moment but would mean nothing upon waking, if you remembered it at all. </p><p>A voice called out from somewhere in the distance. “...elp…”</p><p>You turned, but saw no one. Just empty rooms. The dream continued until the voice called out again, slightly louder, slightly closer. </p><p>“Help… Please…”</p><p>It echoed from multiple directions at once. You spun in place, struggling to pinpoint the source or find any sort of clue as to who was in trouble. </p><p>“Out here… Outside...”</p><p>You started running to find a way out of the building you were currently in. Hallways and corridors twisted and warped, spaces morphing into themselves in a nonsensical labyrinth with no apparent exit. A feeling of unease prickled at the back of your mind.</p><p>“No… your room… outside…”</p><p>Your room? You stopped moving, and the scenery continued shifting around you.</p><p>“Wake up… help me.”</p><p>The unease grew into a mild panic. It felt like something was watching you. </p><p>“Wake up. Outside. Help me.”</p><p>Everything was moving so quickly, blurring together. You couldn’t focus. Something was there. </p><p>“Come on. Help me!”</p><p>You couldn’t—</p><p>“<em>Help me!</em>”</p><p>You jolted upright in bed with a gasp, heart pounding. Silence and darkness greeted you. A quick check to your DDD revealed that you had only been asleep for a few hours. </p><p>What kind of weird nightmare <em>was</em> that? Nothing scary had even happened, it was just a person’s voice and some strange visual noise, but for some reason it had you all shaken up. Maybe you were still subconsciously trying to process the whole “I live with demons now” thing. Or maybe being in hell just had a bad effect on the human mind. That wouldn’t be surprising. </p><p>You slumped back onto your pillows and took a few deep, even breaths. Nothing was clawing at your door, nothing was hiding under your bed (hopefully); it was just a nightmare. Easy enough to deal with.</p><p>“...please…”</p><p>...Unless it wasn’t just a nightmare, because that sounded very real. </p><p>Every muscle in your body froze still as a statue. You didn’t even blink. Was this fucking house <em>haunted?</em> As if six demons weren’t enough, there were <em>ghosts</em> too?</p><p>When several very long seconds passed, and then a minute, and then two minutes, and there were no further ominous pleas for help, you slowly pulled your blankets up to your face. Hiding under the covers wouldn’t stop an evil spirit from tearing you apart, but it still made you feel marginally more secure.</p><p>Eventually you managed to fall back to sleep. The rest of your dreams were untroubled by mysterious voices or hidden presences, and when you woke the next morning, you brushed the experience off as the product of an anxious, half-conscious imagination.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Elsewhere in the house, the one who had called out gave a frustrated sigh.</p><p>He would have to try harder next time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh boy, we’re diverging from canon! I’m going to give you a spoiler though, it’s not actually going to be by that much. Just enough to keep you on your toes. Or maybe more! I’m honestly winging it. </p><p>Your comments and kudos have seriously made me so happy, thank you so much for the support! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ I will try my best to continue to deliver for you!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Impromptu Movie Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You acquire a TV. Mammon definitely does not enjoy some quality time with you. That voice from your dream makes a reappearance.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have no idea what this chapter is, it just kind of... happened. Enjoy??</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You’d pushed last night’s dream from your mind by the time classes ended the next day. Between needing to memorize what potion ingredients would kill you if you used them incorrectly, trying to make sense of the ridiculously long and convoluted timeline of Devildom and Celestial history, and struggling to wrap your mind around magical theory, school didn’t leave much room in your brain for anything else.</p><p>You changed into some comfortable clothes and sprawled across your bed to relax for a while before dinner. Levi was in charge of cooking tonight. An interesting thought, considering the amount of instant ramen containers and energy drinks you’d seen during your brief time in his room. How he managed to keep so slim with a diet like that was beyond you, but then again, Beel ate enough food every day to sustain a small town and he still looked like a Greek god. Demon metabolism was truly a marvel. </p><p>Nothing on Deviltube grabbed your attention as you scrolled through the suggested feed. You were sort of in the mood for a movie, but not only did you not have any movies, you also didn’t have anything to play them on. Maybe there was a House of Lamentation family Netflix account you could use. (Not Netflix—it would probably be called Threatflix or some other equally terrible knock-off pun.) Or maybe you could find a site to just pirate a movie from. </p><p>You opened the DDD’s internet browser and started poking around for anything promising. Some of the sites you pulled up looked majorly sketchy (“SEXY SUCCUBI IN YOUR AREA,” read one banner ad), others just didn’t have what you were searching for. You were in the middle of playing a video clip titled “TaleOf7Lords_Vol1_Clip1/82” when someone spoke up from the entrance to your room.</p><p>“What are you watching in here?”</p><p>You looked up to see Mammon standing in your doorway. The door had been mostly closed, which you hoped would convey the message, “I’m open to visitors but please knock first,” but apparently that was too subtle for him. That, or he just didn’t care. Either was believable. </p><p>“I was trying to watch a series Levi told me about.”</p><p>“He’s got you watching his shows already?” Mammon rolled his eyes. “Which one?”</p><p>“It’s movies, I think. <em>The Tale of the Seven Lords</em>?”</p><p>“Oh, that one. I should have known. He never shuts up about it.”</p><p>“Have you seen it?”</p><p>“Nah.” Mammon leaned back casually against the door frame. “I’m not into that nerd stuff. You wanna watch a real movie, ask <em>me</em>--I can tell you all the good ones.”</p><p>You doubted the offer was anything more than an opportunity for him to stoke his own ego, but it was an offer nonetheless. “Sure, I’ll take suggestions. All I have is my DDD, though, so I probably won’t be able to watch them unless I can find them online.”</p><p>“What? You don’t have a TV?” Mammon pushed himself upright and strode into your room, looking around like there must be a television tucked away somewhere you hadn’t noticed. “What was Lucifer thinking? That you’re just gonna sit in here and do homework all the time?” </p><p>It seemed likely enough. “It’s okay. I’m just a guest, I wouldn’t expect to have a bunch of fancy stuff in my room.”</p><p>“A TV ain’t ‘fancy stuff!’” Mammon said, positively scandalized. “It’s a necessity! That’s why I’ve got three, so I can watch from anywhere in my room!”</p><p>You didn’t bother pointing out that as the Avatar of Greed, perhaps his opinion on what material goods one needed to own was a little biased. Instead, you decided to test the boundaries of your relationship with Mammon a little. Not to purposely piss him off or anything, just to see how he’d react if you treated him more like a normal roommate and less like… well, like a demon. This year long exchange was going to get tedious if you had to act subservient to everyone here the whole time. </p><p>“If you have three, you could let me have one.”</p><p>“Pft! Yeah, right!” Mammon put a hand on his hip. “I ain’t a charity. You can <em>buy</em> one, if you really want it.”</p><p>“You know I don’t have any money.” That was technically a lie. You had the remainder of the money from your shopping trip, and Lucifer had informed you that you’d be receiving a monthly allowance courtesy of Diavolo for the duration of your stay. This seemed like something it was probably best to keep from Mammon, though. </p><p>“Well then you’re outta luck, aren’t you?” Mammon said. “Unless you have anything else you can give me.”</p><p>“You were there when I got all my stuff, you know everything I have.”</p><p>He scowled. “Yeah, I know.” </p><p>A beat passed in silence while he contemplated how to possibly extort anything of value from you. “Hey, I saw you going through your notes for class at lunch today. You get good grades in the human world?”</p><p>...Suspicious. “I did okay.”</p><p>“Then how about you let me study off you for the rest of the year? You take all the notes for the classes we both have, and I guess I can part with one of my TVs for a while. The smallest one!”</p><p>That wasn’t as bad a proposition as you thought. You’d be taking the notes anyway, so what was the harm in sharing them? It seemed like a much better deal than having to fork over a chunk of your limited funds.</p><p>You shrugged. “Sure.”</p><p>Mammon looked a little taken aback at your easy acceptance. You had to imagine his brothers rarely said yes to him like this. “Really?”</p><p>“Yeah. I don’t mind sharing my notes.”</p><p>“Oh. Well… You better make sure they’re the best damn notes you’ve ever taken! If I’m not acing my tests, you’re not keeping the TV!”</p><p>You recalled Lucifer mentioning that Mammon’s grades were, quote, “a disgrace,” so acing his tests was probably an optimistic goal, but you nodded anyway. </p><p>“Good. Give me a minute, then, I’ll go get it,” Mammon said, and left.</p><p>Alone again, you took a long, slow, deep breath in, held it for a second, and then let it out all at once. Mammon was… a lot. But you were starting to get a feel for his personality, beyond the obnoxious exterior, and in his less frustrating moments he was admittedly all right to be around.</p><p>He returned shortly with a decent sized flat screen tucked under his arm. </p><p>“It’s got the player built right into the side,” he said, hefting it onto a shelf, “so you don’t need to hook anything up.” Once the device was situated, he turned to you with his hands on his hips. “Now don’t break it, all right? I’m taking it back at the end of the year.”</p><p>Getting the Avatar of Greed to give you anything at all, even if it was temporary, felt like a big accomplishment. “Thanks for lending it to me. What should I watch?”</p><p>“What, right now?”</p><p>“Yeah. There’s still a couple hours before dinner.”</p><p>Mammon grinned. “You asked the right demon! I’ve got a ton of stuff you should watch if you wanna know the first thing about Devildom pop culture. Hang on, I’ll go grab something.” He hurried back to his room, and you sat down on your bed to wait. </p><p>He was back minutes later with a stack of DVDs. </p><p>“All right, here you go!” he exclaimed, dumping them all in front of you. Judging by the covers, they were mostly action flicks, the kind of thing you put on to sit back and watch explosions and car chases and turn your brain off for a while. The fact that this was what Mammon considered top quality cinema did not surprise you. </p><p>You sifted through them on the off chance that a title from the human world might be mixed in, but they were all unfamiliar. You held one up at random. “How’s this?” </p><p>“That one’s great! It’s about a secret agent who gets framed for a crime by his arch enemy, so he’s gotta go undercover and hunt him down to clear his name.”</p><p>Not exactly what you were in the mood to watch, but Mammon was being nicer than usual and you weren’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth. “Sounds good. I’ll put it on.” You went to the TV and switched it to the correct setting (you were relieved to find that, like the DDD, it was pretty much identical to its human world equivalent), then slid the disc in and waited for it to start before turning back to your bed, where Mammon had already made himself comfortable.</p><p>“You’re… watching too?” you asked.</p><p>He froze, as if it hadn’t occurred to him until that moment that he was acting awfully friendly for supposedly disliking you so much. “I, uh. Well, I gotta be here to explain it to you, or you’re not gonna know what’s going on! It’s a pretty complex plot for a human. And it’s got all sorts of references you wouldn’t understand. I don’t want you complaining to me later ‘cause you didn’t get it.”</p><p>“Oh. All right.” It wasn’t the worst lie you’d ever heard. The part about having references you’d need explained might have even been true. You climbed onto the other side of the bed (it was large enough for there to be a fair amount of space between you) and the two of you sat in the awkward silence that came with hanging out for the first time with someone you just recently met. It wasn’t like you hadn’t spent time around each other, but it was always either for short periods at RAD or with at least one of the other brothers around, like during meals.</p><p>You weren’t sure yet if Mammon actually liked you or not. He complained a lot about having you around, and most of the time it seemed like he meant it, but then there were moments like this, where he sought you out to talk to or hang around for no apparent reason, and the insults and dismissive comments felt forced. Did he just need time to warm up to you? Or maybe he just saw you as a diversion that he could pick up and drop whenever the mood struck. </p><p>With a year to spend down here, you’d figure it out eventually. </p><p>It quickly became clear as the opening credits rolled and the first scene began that Mammon was the type of person who talked during movies. He had something to say about everything that happened on screen. Under other circumstances, it might have been annoying, but in this case the constant chattering helped ease the awkward tension between you. </p><p>“That car would never be able to make a jump like that,” he remarked as the main character drove off the roof of one building to land on another.</p><p>“I don’t think it’s supposed to be realistic,” you said.</p><p>“Yeah, but come on!” </p><p>Contrary to what Mammon had told you, there wasn’t much demon-specific content that required explaining. As the movie progressed into the third act, you’d only had to ask questions a couple times, and for everything else unfamiliar there were enough context clues to figure it out yourself.</p><p>Mammon gestured excitedly towards the TV when things appeared to be reaching a climax. “Here comes the best part, this is the best part!”</p><p>The main character was about to confront his nemesis in a secret mountaintop hideout. Ominous music swelled as he realized he had walked into a trap, and he fought through a wave of henchmen before ending up in a battle to the death with the antagonist. The two struggled against each other for so long it was almost comical, until the nemesis lost his footing and plummeted to his death. Mammon pumped his fist in the air and cheered.</p><p>The whole thing was so overly dramatic and Mammon’s reaction so genuinely delighted that you couldn’t help but laugh. You saw him turn to look at you from the corner of your eye.</p><p>“What?” you asked, assuming he was probably upset that you weren’t taking the movie seriously. </p><p>He looked back to the TV, brows furrowed. “Nothing.” Then, more quietly: “That’s the first time you’ve laughed since you got here.”</p><p>“Oh.” That… was not what you had expected. </p><p>“Not that I’m paying that much attention or anything!” he clarified. “You’ve just been looking scared outta your skin most of the time, so it stood out.”</p><p>You weren’t sure how to respond. ‘Guess I’m adjusting to my life being in danger 24/7, no big deal?’ ‘Thanks, it’s sweet of you to notice?’</p><p>A mop of red hair appearing in your doorway provided a convenient escape from the conversation. </p><p>“Are you guys watching a movie?”</p><p>Mammon startled, scrambling to straighten up and scoot as far away from you as the bed would allow. “Beel! Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?”</p><p>You failed to suppress a snort. Knocking, indeed.</p><p>“The door was open,” Beel pointed out. “Did you make popcorn?”</p><p>“No, there ain’t any popcorn! Get outta here!”</p><p>Beel turned his gaze to you. You had found him incredibly intimidating at first, but after only a few days of living and going to classes together you realized how quiet and reserved he actually was. The way he devoured anything even remotely edible with such single minded ferocity was still a little off putting; you weren’t as worried about him killing you anymore, though. The look he gave you now was hopeful, like a puppy waiting for a treat. It was a really, really difficult look to say no to.</p><p>“We can make popcorn next time, if you want to watch, too.”</p><p>“Hey, hey!” Mammon protested. “‘Next time?’ What makes you think I wanna sit around watching movies with a human? I just took pity on you today!”</p><p>“Then you don’t have to come. I’ll just watch with Beel.”</p><p>Mammon scoffed. “Like I’d leave you alone with him! He’d eat you as soon as he finished the popcorn.”</p><p>“No I wouldn’t,” Beel frowned. </p><p>“Sure you would! And then Lucifer would have my head. So I’m gonna have to be there to keep you in check.” Mammon heaved a sigh, as if the mere thought exhausted him. “What a pain.”</p><p>Beel opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by an impossibly loud noise that you’d come to recognize as his stomach growling. It made you wince every time you heard it, just because of how painful it sounded. “Who’s on dinner duty?” he asked.</p><p>Mammon shrugged. “Not me.”</p><p>“I think it’s Levi,” you said.</p><p>“Levi? Hm… I’m going to go see what he’s making.” Beel promptly abandoned the conversation the three of you had been in the middle of to go terrorize the kitchen.</p><p>“Leave some food for the rest of us!” Mammon shouted after him.</p><p>Your stomach cramped just thinking about how much Beel could consume like it was nothing. “How do you guys afford groceries?”</p><p>“Hell if I know. I never buy them.”</p><p>The movie wrapped up within the next twenty minutes or so, and with nothing there to fill the silence, the awkwardness from before fell back into place.</p><p>“Well,” Mammon said, rising from your bed and straightening his clothes. “I’ll, uh... leave the rest of the DVDs here. So you don’t have to come bother me next time you wanna watch something.”</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>“And don’t think I’m gonna let you off easy with those notes! They better be so good, I could skip school and still pass the classes.”</p><p>You gave him a wry smile. “I’ll do my best.” </p><p>“Good.” He started to leave, then paused in the doorway. “I’m pretty busy, you know, but, uh—I’ll try to find some time for another movie. If I have to.” And he hurried away without giving you a chance to respond.</p><p>You switched the TV off and checked your DDD for the time. It was still a little early to head to the dining room, but with Beel already in the kitchen it probably wouldn’t hurt to show up first and get your pick on whatever made it out. Hopefully Levi made something edible—the cafeteria at RAD didn’t exactly cater to humans, so you’d had a meager lunch. </p><p>Sounds of music and arguing drifted from the kitchen as you stepped out into the hallway and closed your door behind you. </p><p>“Beel, get that out of your mouth!”</p><p>“I’m hungry!”</p><p>“We’re <em>all</em> going to be hungry if you don’t quit it!”</p><p>“...MC…”</p><p>Your breath caught in your throat. That last voice didn’t come from the kitchen. It was the one from your dream, the one that had been calling for help. Except you were very much awake right now. You stood there in one spot long enough for the current song Levi was playing to end and a new one to start, and no ghosts revealed themselves, none of the brothers jumped out from behind a curtain and went, “Gotcha!” and no other phantom calls were heard. </p><p>If this kept up for more than a few days, you decided, cautiously resuming your trip to the dining room, you’d ask someone about it. For now, it was just a spooky voice. Nothing to be afraid of. You lived with a bunch of demons, after all—what could be scarier than that?</p><p>Right?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m not really satisfied with how this one turned out. I struggled with it and contemplated erasing it all and trying again, but figured it’s just a fluffy little filler chapter—it doesn’t need to win any awards, it just needs to exist, lol. Hope that good sweet Mammon content is enough to make up for the fact that it didn’t really progress the story at all :p The next chapter should have more plot!</p><p>I also started working on a oneshot and may do more later on just to give myself little breaks from trying to pound out this story, so keep an eye out for those in the near future! Thank you for reading!! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. An Unfortunate Incident</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You get into trouble. Lucifer gets you out of trouble. Mammon gets into trouble.</p><p>(Minor violence in this chapter)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Surprise, I’m still here!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week passed uneventfully. You attended your classes without issue. You struggled through your assignments. Asmo painted your nails, Satan destroyed you in a round of chess, Beel found and stole some candy you’d tried to hide for yourself. Slowly, you started to develop a routine; slowly, you started to grow more comfortable with your demonic housemates. And you didn’t hear a single whisper from the mysterious voice. It was comforting to have things settle down after those whirlwind first few days.</p><p>You should have known it wouldn’t last.</p><p>To be fair, slipping away after class without Mammon seeing was not your brightest idea, but you <em>really</em> had to go to the bathroom, and it would only take a minute. Everyone was headed to lunch, anyway; the cafeteria was always so chaotic that Mammon and the others wouldn’t even have time to notice you were gone before you came back. </p><p>You hurried the short distance from your classroom to the nearest restrooms, keeping your head down along the way. Quite a few of your classmates had actually introduced themselves over the past week and most of them were friendly enough, but you still caught plenty of whispers and glances from other demons around the campus, so you did your best to draw as little attention to yourself as possible wherever you went. </p><p>The side hallway where the bathrooms were located was mostly empty when you went in, and when you exited a couple minutes later there was just one lone demon leaning against the wall, tapping at his DDD. He pocketed the device as you walked by. </p><p>“Hey. Off by yourself?”</p><p>Little alarm bells instantly went off in your head. Your steps faltered, torn between running away without a second thought and stopping to respond (between “I don’t want to die” and “I don’t want to be rude,” one was clearly more important, but you still paused). “I’m just going to the cafeteria,” you said with a glance back, and picked up the pace. </p><p>You almost breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t respond, thinking he must have just wanted to scare you—and then something tugged you backwards by your backpack, hard enough to make you stumble. </p><p>“I was about to head there myself,” the demon said. When you tried to turn around, he yanked on your bag again, pulling you farther down the hallway. “But I think I might eat out here instead.”</p><p>Okay, code red, this man was about to kill you. You slid the backpack off your shoulders and started to run, only for the demon to grab you by the wrist and begin dragging you in earnest along the hall to God-knows-where, probably an empty classroom where he could devour you in peace. He wrenched you closer and slapped his free hand over your mouth when you drew in a breath to call for help.</p><p>“You scream, and I’ll tear your throat out right here,” he warned. “I’ll make it hurt.” He waited until you nodded to remove his hand. </p><p>If shouting would get you killed, you probably wouldn’t fare much better trying to attack him. Kicking, punching, scratching, biting—could you even hurt him? What options did you have left?</p><p>...Well. Maybe there was one option. But it was a big maybe. </p><p><em>Mammon,</em> you thought, desperately trying to summon up the sensation you’d felt when you invoked the pact before, <em>please help, please please please help, I don’t know if this will work but I’m about to die and I need you.</em> </p><p>You kept up the mental plea as the demon pulled you along, rounding a corner and making for an unmarked door. He knocked it open to reveal what looked like a storage room. </p><p>
  <em>Please hurry.</em>
</p><p>Shelves and stacks of crates filled half the space, but with the windows shuttered and only the torchlight from the hallway filtering in, you couldn’t make out much detail. The demon shoved you against a wall and pinned the arm he had a grip on over your head. </p><p>“I thought this would be harder, with those brothers looking after you,” he said. He leaned in close, nose brushing your neck, and inhaled deeply. “Mm. Guess they don’t actually care. I wouldn’t, either. I would have eaten you on the first day.”</p><p>
  <em>Mammon…</em>
</p><p>“Maybe I should save a piece of you for them? I bet that’d get me a favor, at least from Beelzebub.” He pressed a finger into your chest, right over your heart. “But I’ve never gotten to taste a human before. I’d rather keep you all for myself.”</p><p>Your body trembled as you forced back a sob. You were <strong>not</strong> going to break down, not yet. Someone had to notice your absence in the cafeteria. They’d come looking for you. You just had to draw this out, either until you found a way to escape or until someone rescued you.</p><p>“Diavolo will find out,” you said, voice coming out as barely more than a whisper. </p><p>The prince’s name didn’t have the effect you’d hoped. The demon laughed once, no more worried than if you’d just threatened to fistfight him yourself. </p><p>“No he won’t. No one saw me take you. No one,” he emphasized, seeing you about to speak again, “is going to find you. You’re mine.”</p><p>With that declaration, his nails pierced your skin, sharpening into claws that sent rivulets of blood streaming down your arm. Horns curled from his head. He grinned, and a mouthful of sharp teeth glinted in the dim light. </p><p>“Now. Where should I start?” he asked, teasing a finger along your jaw. </p><p>You swallowed hard. So this was really it. No last-minute miracle. No clever way out. Just you getting ripped apart in some dusty back room. Would they send your mangled corpse back home? Would there even be a body left to find? </p><p>“Come on,” the demon goaded, “I know you want to beg. I can see the tears in your eyes. ‘Please don’t kill me, I don’t want to die!’” </p><p>Your free hand balled into a fist. If this was really your last stand, you were at least going to give the bastard some trouble. </p><p>“Beg for me, little human. I want to hear it.”</p><p>You brought a knee up hard into his groin. “Fuck you.”</p><p>The small glimmer of hope you’d had that the surprise attack might give you a chance to escape evaporated as his grip on your arm tightened. He only cringed, a muttered curse slipping between clenched teeth, before lunging at your throat.</p><p>You squeezed your eyes shut and braced for the end. But it didn’t come. </p><p>The door to the classroom burst open just as the demon’s teeth broke skin. You opened your eyes in time to see him scramble away from you, and away from the door, as a wave of energy swept through the room. It felt like the heaviness in the air before a thunderstorm, intense enough to make you sway on your feet. Black suddenly engulfed your vision. It took a few seconds to process why, but when your fear-addled brain caught up to reality you realized it was <em>wings.</em> Four of them. And they were attached to Lucifer. </p><p>“Would you care to explain what you were doing?” he asked the other demon. </p><p>“I, uh...”</p><p>“Wait outside. If you try to run, I will hunt you down and skin you alive, do you understand?”</p><p>The demon nodded and scurried out of the room. Not even a second later, Mammon skidded to a stop in the doorway, looking frantic and confused. His eyes widened as he took in Lucifer, wings and horns on full display, and then you, clutching your bloody arm to your chest. </p><p>“What happened?” he asked.</p><p>“The human you’re supposed to be watching was nearly killed,” Lucifer said, turning to face you. Logically, you knew he had just saved your life, but you still shrank back against the wall beneath his gaze. He gave you a brief once over before settling on your most obvious injury—your arm—and holding out a hand. “Let me see.”</p><p>You offered it to him to examine. His touch was surprisingly gentle, despite the pressure still radiating off him. While he inspected the wounds, you stared at his horns and wings (and the little diamond on his forehead? What was that about?), still on edge but unable to deny your curiosity at seeing something so fantastical up close. Focusing on the little details helped you calm down enough to at least get your breathing under control.</p><p>“Mammon,” Lucifer said, returning your arm and tilting your head to the side to get a better look at the shallow bite mark.</p><p>“...Yeah?”</p><p>Lucifer turned back around and leveled his brother with a glare hot enough to melt steel. “Take MC home and tend to their injuries. You can manage that, can’t you?”</p><p>Mammon’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Yeah.”</p><p>“Do you have something to say?”</p><p>“...No. I don’t.”</p><p>“Then leave. Everyone is at lunch, so you’ll be spared the shame of the entire student body seeing how spectacularly you failed at your job.”</p><p>Mammon glanced between you and Lucifer before dropping his gaze to the floor. “Fine. Come on, human.”</p><p>“We’ll discuss your punishment when I get home,” Lucifer added as the two of you left the room. </p><p>The demon who attacked you was standing just outside. Mammon pulled you closer as you walked by. </p><p>He was uncharacteristically quiet during your trip back to the house, hands shoved in his pockets, staring at the ground with an irritated expression. You weren’t in any mood to humor him, so you stayed just as silent. Your arm throbbed with a dull pain. Hopefully it wasn’t infected with some weird demon toxin. </p><p>Mammon led you back to your own room, disappearing into the bathroom and rooting through the cabinet beneath your sink and returning with a small first aid kit that looked like it must have been purchased in the human world specifically for your stay. </p><p>He sat down on your bed and motioned for you to do the same. “Come on.”</p><p>You watched him hesitate, falter, and fumble over the supplies—he clearly had no idea what he was doing—but he did his best to carefully clean and bandage your injuries, starting with the bite and moving along your arm.</p><p>“You better not do anything that stupid again,” he said eventually. </p><p>You looked up at him. He didn’t meet your eyes. “Sorry.”</p><p>“Sorry ain’t gonna cut it if you end up dead.” He tugged on the length of bandage he was attempting to wrap around your arm, grimacing when it all slid off. “Humans are fragile. You can’t go wandering off by yourself.”</p><p>“Maybe they should have thought about that before they brought me here.”</p><p>He did glance up at that, but his expression was unreadable. “Well, you still got a whole year left, so get used to it. I’ll put you on a leash if I have to.”</p><p>“I feel like that might send the wrong message.”</p><p>You hadn’t even intended to fluster him, the line just slipped out, completely deadpan, but Mammon went as red as if you’d said it with a wink and kiss. </p><p>“Wh—fuck! No! I don’t—gross! Why would you even say something like that! You’ve been hanging around Asmo too much!”</p><p>You couldn’t help but laugh, which only made him more indignant. </p><p>“Stop laughing at me! I’m trying to help you, here! Sit still!”</p><p>“Sorry, sorry,” you said, settling back down. It was a relief to feel some of the tension that had followed you from campus lift slightly. “I guess it is a good thing I made a pact with you.”</p><p>He snorted. “I told you, didn’t I?”</p><p>“Yeah.” You watched him work on your arm in silence for a moment. “I didn’t know if it would work like that. Without you being there.”</p><p>“It doesn’t, really,” Mammon said, unwrapping and re-wrapping a section until he was satisfied. “It’s not like I was following an order. It just felt like something was kinda… tugging on me. And I could tell you were scared. But I could have sat there and kept eating my lunch and left you for dead! So you better be grateful that I bothered to save you.”</p><p>“Technically Lucifer saved me,” you teased.</p><p>“I’m the one who told him something was wrong!” Mammon objected. “He wouldn’t have had a clue if it weren’t for me! So I’m still the one you should be thanking!”</p><p>You smiled, but it slipped away as you thought about the punishment Lucifer had mentioned, despite the whole ordeal really being your fault. </p><p>“What is it?” Mammon asked, noticing your expression change. “Shit, am I doing this too tight? I’m—,”</p><p>“No,” you interrupted, “it’s fine. I just… I really am glad that you came. I didn’t think I was going to make it.”</p><p>Mammon fiddled with the bandages. “Yeah, well. Not like I could let some nobody get his teeth in you. Think about how that’d make me look. And Lucifer would have killed me.”</p><p>The two of you lapsed back into silence while Mammon grew more and more exasperated with his attempt at first aid. After a couple minutes, he sighed.</p><p>“Ah… I, um. There’s something I want you to know.”</p><p>He ran a hand through the hair at the back of his head, which you had figured out days ago was his go-to nervous tell.</p><p>“Listen. I know I said I saved you this time—and I did!—but… The next time you’re in trouble, it’s gonna be just me, all right? Not Lucifer, not anyone else. And if I can’t get to you, then…” His brows furrowed as he struggled to find words for whatever he wanted to say. You could practically see the frustration building up behind his eyes. “Then just die! I don’t want anyone else stepping in, you understand? It’s me or no one!”</p><p>The absurd demand didn’t strike you as much as the apparent emotional turmoil behind it. “Why?” you asked. </p><p>He looked back down to your arm. He wasn’t even fixing the bandages anymore, just holding on like you might fall apart the moment he let go. “It’s my job, ain’t it?”</p><p>The urge to reach out and touch his face struck you. You blinked at the thought, willing it away as quickly as it had come. <em>No crushes,</em> you reminded yourself. <em>You’re probably just all fucked up because you almost died.</em></p><p>“Hey.” You gave Mammon a small smile. “If you want to be my knight in shining armor, you better run faster next time.”</p><p>He went red again, a sight you were becoming fond of (<em>NO CRUSHES</em>), and threw the roll of bandages at your head. “Shut up!”</p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>Mammon kept you company the rest of the afternoon, until everyone else returned from classes and Lucifer dragged him away for whatever terrible punishment he had planned. Asmo stopped by to fuss over your injuries (“Oh, I have a cream that will stop this from scarring, let me put it on for you!”), Beel dropped off an armload of demonic protein bars (“You have to eat better to get stronger,”), and Lucifer came to return your backpack (he actually didn’t say much, just made sure you were okay and left). It all worked to distract you, which was good, because you didn’t want to think about what had happened. You couldn’t afford to. If you were going to make it through a whole year here, where everyone was powerful and magical and wanted to eat you, you couldn’t let one brush with death break your spirit. </p><p>Easy enough to say.</p><p>As you tried to fall asleep, though, it was all you could see. The teeth, the claws, the eyes. They followed you into your dreams, where Lucifer and Mammon never showed up to save you, or sometimes it was Lucifer or Mammon killing you, and you couldn’t scream and it took forever to pull yourself awake but only seconds to fall back into the nightmares. </p><p>You tossed and turned all night, hardly getting any rest. You were already lying awake when the alarm on your DDD went off in the morning. Groaning, you rubbed at your eyes and sat up, body heavy, arm sore, head pounding. Good fucking morning.</p><p>At the edge of your consciousness, you could almost hear laughter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I pulled one of the UR+ cards for the current event and it singlehandedly gave me the motivation to finish this chapter LOL</p><p>Sorry it’s been so long! When I started this fic I was working a really chill job where I had a lot of time to just sit and write, but for the past couple months I’ve been working at a much more intense job where I have no free time and come home every night so tired I just go straight to bed, so...... it’s been hard to get anything done. I’m not giving up though! And I’m so thankful for all of you who haven’t given up on this story! We’ll get through this eventually! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Midnight Meandering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sleeping in peace continues to be an unattainable goal</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next forty-eight hours presented you with some good news and some bad news. The good news was that the minor injuries you’d sustained during the demon attack were healing nicely, and that your less friendly classmates were giving you a wide berth (your attacker seemed to have up and vanished, and although Lucifer didn’t outright tell you he killed him… you were pretty sure he killed him). At least one of the brothers made sure to always stick by your side around RAD now, just to be extra safe. </p>
<p>The bad news was that you had apparently developed a sleepwalking habit. </p>
<p>It was confusing, to say the least, the first night you woke up standing in a random hallway with Lucifer glaring at you. </p>
<p>“Out for a stroll?” he asked.</p>
<p>You blinked at him, still trying to process why you were suddenly there and not your room. “...What?”</p>
<p>“It’s late. You should be in bed.”</p>
<p>“I <em>was</em> in bed…”</p>
<p>Lucifer narrowed his eyes as you rubbed at yours. “And now you aren’t.”</p>
<p>You didn’t respond. Yeah, obviously you weren’t, but… why? You tried to recall if maybe you’d gotten up to go to the bathroom and been too out of it to remember you weren’t in your own house, or if you’d gone to get some water from the kitchen and walked a little too far without realizing, but your last conscious memory was settling down to sleep. </p>
<p>Great. This was probably some side effect of living in hell. Your brain would be fried by the end of the year, if you made it that far at all. </p>
<p>“Go back to your room,” Lucifer said. “I don’t want to see you out this late again.” </p>
<p>You were already planning on going back to your room, so you turned to leave without argument, although you couldn’t help but mutter, “Okay, mom,” under your breath as you left. He really had the strict parent routine mastered. </p>
<p>“What was that?”</p>
<p>“I said good night.”</p>
<p>****</p>
<p>The following night found you unconsciously out and about again. And again, Lucifer intercepted you somewhere along the way. He didn’t bother with conversation this time, simply taking you by the shoulders and turning you back in the direction of your room, leaning in close to murmur, “Back to bed,” right into your ear (when you recalled the situation in the morning, your cheeks flushed red—thank God you’d been too zonked out to react in the moment). </p>
<p>Maybe you could see about getting some kind of sleep aid to help keep you in bed. If you didn’t think of something, Lucifer would probably just start locking you in your room at night. You weren’t fond of the idea, but it was arguably better than you stumbling out of the house in your pajamas and getting eaten. </p>
<p>You stifled a yawn as you packed your textbooks for the day into your backpack. Jesus. Everything here was an ordeal, even sleeping. It was going to be a long year. </p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>Lucifer watched the human shuffle back to their room, waiting until he heard the soft <em>click</em> of their door before he turned to the staircase with a frown. He had assumed, of course, that Belphegor may have been to blame when he found them wandering near the attic last night, but he also understood that sleepwalking wasn’t terribly uncommon for humans, and he could have caught them in that location by sheer coincidence. </p>
<p>When he found them standing in the same spot tonight in a half-conscious daze, he knew he was a fool to give his brother the benefit of the doubt. Of course it was Belphegor. The brat couldn’t leave well enough alone. What did he even hope to accomplish by drawing the human there? Even if they made it up to the attic, Lucifer had layered enough spellwork into the space to render the room—and its occupant—undetectable. </p>
<p>He allowed himself a moment of visible frustration, alone in the dark hall where no one could see or judge him for it. He rubbed a hand over his face, shoulders slumped, and sighed, his usual impassive expression dissolving into something that looked as tired as he felt. He just needed this year to pass smoothly. Just one year. Keep the human alive, and in the meantime, it would give him enough time to figure out how to deal with Belphegor. </p>
<p>Lucifer cast a simple ward over the staircase to divert the human’s attention should they happen to wander that way again. As for the sleepwalking… There wasn’t much he could do aside from placing a protective spell on them directly to shield them from Belphegor’s influence. It would be easy enough to lie to them about it—he could say it was to defend them from the lower demons at RAD and they’d either accept it as truth or be too afraid to question him further. His brothers would get nosy if they found the human steeped in his magic, though. </p>
<p>Talking to Belphegor was out of the question. Anything Lucifer asked him to do, he’d double down in the opposite direction out of spite. </p>
<p>Honestly, his best course of action was probably to do nothing. If he just kept the human away from the attic, eventually Belphegor would give up. Persistence wasn’t in his nature.</p>
<p>Lucifer double checked all the wards he had in place one final time before returning to his study for the night. Despite the work he’d put in during the day, the sizable stack of paperwork remaining on his desk promised a night of little to no sleep. </p>
<p>He left the study again with a sigh, heading for the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. He was going to need it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this chapter is so short! The plot that needed to happen just fit nicely in this little bite sized bit. I’ve already started writing the next one, and it will be longer! As always, thank you for reading!! ^-^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. You Eat It, You Die</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The custard incident.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You were busy working on an assignment for one of your classes when your DDD pinged with a message. In a perfect world, you would ignore it and finish the homework, and whoever was trying to get your attention would wait for you to reply, but this was far from a perfect world, and you had quickly learned that the members of this house didn’t like when you ignored their texts. </p><p>Mammon’s contact photo lit up the screen as you unlocked the device. </p><p><strong>Mammon:</strong> Hey<br/>
<strong>Mammon:</strong> Come to the kitchen</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Why?</p><p><strong>Mammon:</strong> Because I said so!!!<br/>
<strong>Mammon:</strong> Get in here or I’ll drag your ass outta your room myself!!</p><p>You grimaced, eyeing your unfinished assignment. It really needed to be done tonight, but… a small break wouldn’t hurt.</p><p><strong>Me:</strong> Okay I’m coming</p><p>You slipped the phone into your pocket and headed to the kitchen. Mammon was digging through the fridge when you got there.</p><p>“What did you need?” you asked, peering around him at the mostly empty shelves inside.</p><p>He straightened up and held something out to you. “Here. Eat this.” </p><p>The “this” in question was a container of some kind of pudding or custard, with the word <strong>BEEL</strong> written across the lid in big letters. </p><p>“It says ‘Beel’ on it,” you pointed out.</p><p>“I know how to read,” Mammon snapped, and brandished it at you more forcefully, “now hurry up and eat it. You just need to take a bite.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>He reached out and grabbed one of your hands, setting the dessert into your palm himself, then handed you a spoon as well. “Just do what I tell you to, all right!? Beel ate all the good stuff and I want a snack, but I don’t want to be the only one getting in trouble when he pitches a fit about someone stealing his food.”</p><p>You blanched at the thought of being on the receiving end of Beel’s ire for that particular crime. Yesterday in the cafeteria at RAD he broke someone’s hand because they took the last of the sandwiches he had been in line for. </p><p>“I don’t want it,” you said, gingerly placing the custard down on the counter. </p><p>“I ain’t asking! Just shut up and take a bite, you’ll be fine!”</p><p>“I don’t want to!”</p><p>“Fine, then I’ll <em>make</em> you!” Mammon tore the lid off the container and stuck his own spoon in, then thrust it into your face. “Come on! Down the hatch!”</p><p>“Mm-mm!” You shook your head and stumbled backwards away from him—right into someone’s rock solid chest. </p><p>Mammon’s eyes widened. “Shit—Beel! I, uh—,”</p><p>“That’s my custard,” Beel said. You felt a growl rumble up from inside him before you heard it.</p><p>“Is it? I think you might be thinking of something else, ‘cause I—,”</p><p>“IT’S <em>MINE</em>.” Beel pushed you out of the way, none too gently, to advance on Mammon, who shot you a worried look. Beel’s form shimmered like hot air above pavement and suddenly he had black, insectoid wings and dark horns that curled around the front of his head. A feeling similar to when Lucifer burst in to save your life the other day seeped into the air—heavy, oppressive. </p><p>“Run!” Mammon shouted, at the same time Beel charged forward with a roar. </p><p>You scurried out of the kitchen, but quickly realized that simply being out of the room was <em>not</em> far enough as a cast iron skillet crashed through the wall and flew past your head with enough force to embed itself in the stone behind you.</p><p>A door farther down the hall opened and Satan stuck his head out. “What the hell is going on?”</p><p>You ran over, fully intending to use him as a human (demon) shield against the chaos the two others were raining down on the kitchen.</p><p>“Who’s in there?” Satan asked.</p><p>“Beel and Mammon.”</p><p>He rolled his eyes. “What did Mammon do?”</p><p>“Took some of Beel’s food.”</p><p>“Idiot.”</p><p>“IT’S JUST A FUCKING CUSTARD, BEEL, I DIDN’T EVEN EAT ANY!” Mammon yelled, followed by, “Hey, whoa, put that down! You’re gonna—,”</p><p>His next words were drowned out by a massive crash, strong enough to shake the floor beneath your feet. A cloud of dust and debris billowed out of the doorway to your bedroom. Even from your position down the hall, you could tell that something had just demolished the wall between your room and the kitchen. </p><p>“Ah. Good thing you weren’t in there,” Satan commented idly, as if your accidental death would have been a minor inconvenience at worst. </p><p>Mammon’s voice rang out again from the combat zone. “GET A GRIP, BEEL!” </p><p>“Should someone stop them?” you asked, more than a little worried on Mammon’s part.</p><p>“They’ll be fine. Beel is strong, but Mammon is fast. I’m sure Lucifer will be here any minute to lay into them, anyway; half the Devildom probably heard that.”</p><p>As if summoned, Lucifer’s figure swept around the corner at the opposite end of the corridor, haloed by a visible black aura.</p><p>“Speak of the devil,” Satan said. “Good luck. I’m not involved in this.” And he shut his door in your face. </p><p>You must have been removed enough from the scene of destruction that Lucifer deemed you a bystander, because he barely spared you a glance as he stalked into the kitchen, oozing fury in a way that made you want to fall to your knees and cower. </p><p>“<strong>MAMMON! BEELZEBUB!</strong>” </p><p>The sounds of fighting ceased almost instantly. </p><p>“<strong>Out. Now.</strong>”</p><p> There was some shuffling around, and Mammon emerged from the wreckage with Beel close behind. Mammon sported horns and wings of his own that promptly blinked out of existence when he spotted you watching from Satan’s doorway. Beel’s stayed in place, the agitated flicker of his wings betraying a temper not yet fully reigned in. </p><p>Lucifer took a moment to survey the damage to both rooms before gripping his brothers by their shoulders and marching them away. You were surprised to hear him call your name over his shoulder. </p><p>“You, too.”</p><p>So much for being a bystander. </p><p>You hurried to catch up, trailing a few steps behind Lucifer. The black aura was gone but it was still a little uncomfortable to be close to him. He led the three of you to a closed door—Beel’s demonic features slipped out of sight along the way—and let himself inside, and as you, Mammon, and Beel filed in behind, you realized it was his bedroom. </p><p>The space was what you’d expect for a man like Lucifer—dark, elegant, luxurious but not extravagant. It was fitting. </p><p>Lucifer seated himself behind a desk brimming with neatly organized files and papers and fixed your little trio with a glare that had you squirming on your feet.</p><p>“Well?”</p><p>“I was just looking for something to eat when Beel came up and attacked me!” Mammon immediately cried.</p><p>Beel clenched his fists. “You ate my custard.”</p><p>“No, I didn’t! I was just holding it!”</p><p>“The lid was off.”</p><p>“Wha—oh, well,” Mammon floundered, “That’s ‘cause MC was about to eat it! I was trying to stop them!”</p><p><em>What?</em> Your whole room was destroyed and he was going to try to throw you under the bus? “No I wasn’t!” </p><p>“I walked in on you telling them to eat it, Mammon,” Beel said. “I’m not stupid.”</p><p>Lucifer closed his eyes (you imagined he was silently counting to ten) and cut in before things could devolve into a full-on argument. “Let me get this straight. Mammon went rummaging for food, and when he found Beel’s custard, he dragged MC in as an accomplice. Beel found out, lost control, and went on a rampage, and now not only is the kitchen destroyed, but MC’s room as well. Is that correct?”</p><p>“I guess…” Mammon said, and Beel mumbled something that sounded like, “My custard…”</p><p>“MC,” Lucifer said, and you stiffened. “Have a seat. I’ll speak with you later.” He gestured to the other side of the room, where two armchairs and a small table were arranged in front of a fireplace.</p><p>Relief coursed through you. “Okay.” </p><p>“What!?” Mammon protested. “Why do they get to—,”</p><p>“<strong>Mammon.</strong>“</p><p>You practically ran away, eager to be out of the line of fire, even if just for the moment, for whatever punishment Mammon and Beel were about to receive. </p><p>It ended up being a very, <em>very</em> lengthy lecture, one that you tuned out after the first fifteen or so minutes. Thankfully you had your DDD on you to provide a distraction. Lucifer kept at it for over an hour. You caught snippets of his monologue as your attention drifted—he chastised his brothers for causing property damage, for lacking control, for endangering you, for embarrassing their reputation as nobility, for giving him extra work…. after a certain point, you got the feeling that he might have just been using the opportunity to vent some unrelated, pent-up frustration. </p><p>When the tirade did eventually draw to a close, Lucifer called you back over.</p><p>“Mammon, Beel,” he said, expectantly.</p><p>Beel shifted from foot to foot, his head down, holding his hands almost timidly against his chest. The berserker from the kitchen was gone—now he just looked like a kicked puppy with its tail between its legs. </p><p>“Sorry,” he murmured. </p><p>Mammon crossed his arms, significantly less repentant as he grumbled out a “sorry” as well. </p><p>“I expect the two of you to learn something from this,” Lucifer said. It seemed oddly preachy, for a demon. “Now, MC. It seems you won’t be able to use your room for some time. You know, since it lacks a wall.” He gave his brothers a pointed look. “So for the time being, I want you to stay in Beel’s room.”</p><p>“What!? Why are you sticking them in <em>his</em> room!?” Mammon said. “There’s enough space in my room, isn’t there?”</p><p>“Don’t be jealous over something so trivial,” Lucifer chided, “it’s immature.”</p><p>Mammon’s cheeks went red. “Jealous? Wh—who’re you calling jealous? Why would I be jealous? I just—they’ve got a pact with me, that’s all!”</p><p>“Your pact is irrelevant. There’s an extra bed in Beel’s room.”</p><p>You were actually about to speak up in agreement with Mammon, until you got another look at Beel’s pitiful expression, and you couldn’t bring yourself to make him feel any worse than he already did. Sure, he frightened you a little, just because of his sheer size and the obvious fact that he was a demon who had offhandedly mentioned wanting to eat you, but he had been nothing but courteous to you up until this point (aside from stealing off your plate sometimes at meals), and he seemed genuinely upset at having gone overboard. Plus, Lucifer wouldn’t put you in his room unless he thought you’d be safe there, right?</p><p>You’d let it play out, for now.</p><p>“This is not a request, Beel. Do you understand?” Lucifer asked. </p><p>“Yeah. I understand.”</p><p>“Then you’re dismissed.” </p><p>Mammon stormed out right away, muttering under his breath. You managed to catch “this sucks” before he was gone. You and Beel followed, standing in awkward silence as the door closed behind you. </p><p>“Do you want to go get stuff out of your room?” he asked.</p><p>You nodded. “Sure.”</p><p>When you got to the scene of the crime, the damage wasn’t actually as extensive as you’d thought on your side of the (now nonexistent) wall. Your bed was crushed underneath the <em>entire fridge</em>, but other than that, most of your furniture and minimal belongings were unharmed. </p><p>Beel hefted the refrigerator back into the correct room while you gathered up some clothes and toiletries. Now you just needed your school supplies, and…. </p><p>Shit. </p><p>You had been sitting on your bed doing homework. The bed that was now nothing more than a pile of rubble. </p><p>Beel turned at the sound of you groaning. “What is it?”</p><p>“My homework was under there.” </p><p>“Oh.” He at least had the decency to look sheepish. “I can help you start over, if you want.”</p><p>“Thanks.” You kicked at a chunk of stone on the floor. There wasn’t much else here you needed (there wasn’t much else you even had).</p><p>“Are you done?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Beel cast a longing glance at the ruined fridge and picked his way through the debris back into the hall. “Okay. Follow me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Two chapters in two days??? It’s a miracle. I really enjoy this part of the story, so I’ll probably have the next chapter out relatively soon as well. Thank you for reading!! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Belphie and Lilith</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Little by little, details are revealed. Also Beel’s bed is majorly comfy</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I feel like these chapters just keep getting away from me, this is not what I had planned but uhhh here you go</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So… this is my room.”</p><p>Beel stood off to one side as you stepped in and looked around. He was clearly a little uncomfortable, and you couldn’t exactly blame him. The two of you weren’t very close, still in that awkward, “It feels like we’ve moved past just being acquaintances but I don’t think it’s quite a friendship yet” stage, and now you had to live out of his bedroom. </p><p>It was a big bedroom, at least. A line divided it down the middle into two halves, one red with a golden sun motif on the wall over the bed, and the other purple with a crescent moon. You had assumed when Lucifer said there was an extra bed that Beel just had another one tucked away for some reason, but this looked like a shared space, albeit one that hadn’t been shared for a while. </p><p>“You can use my bed,” Beel said, pointing to the red side. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”</p><p>“On the couch?” you repeated, confused, and he nodded. “Why?”</p><p>He fidgeted with his hands for a few seconds before answering. “The other bed is my brother’s. The one you asked about before.”</p><p>At first you couldn’t think of what he meant, but then you remembered—back on one of those first few nights, when Levi had gotten you into the pact with Mammon, you had found Beel in the kitchen and asked if there was someone else you hadn’t met yet. The question had upset him. </p><p>“His name is Belphegor,” Beel continued. “He’s in the human world right now as an exchange student.” </p><p>“Oh.” That was interesting—before, in the kitchen, he had said they had to act like Belphegor didn’t exist, and warned you not to bring him up around Lucifer. Why would that be the case if he was just studying in the human world? The curiosity gnawed at you, but it still seemed like too touchy of a subject to broach, so you settled for commenting, “I didn’t know you shared a room.”</p><p>Beel nodded. “We’re twins.”</p><p>“Twins?” You hoped for the sake of whatever humans he was staying with that Belphegor didn’t share an identical appetite with his brother. </p><p>“Yeah. We don’t look alike, though. It just means our father made us at the same time. We’re pretty much opposites.” Beel smiled slightly, as if recalling a fond memory. “But we’ve always gotten along. We were the youngest, with our sister, so we always stayed together.”</p><p>Hang on—a sister? No one had even mentioned a sister before. How many secret siblings did this family have?</p><p>“You have a sister?”</p><p>Beel’s hands, held loosely together, clenched. He stared at the floor with an expression that made your heart ache. “Her name was Lilith. She died a long time ago.” </p><p>“Oh… I’m sorry.” You didn’t know what else to say. You hadn’t even thought about whether or not demons could die, honestly. </p><p>Beel pulled in a deep breath and sighed. When he looked at you again, he had composed himself, all the sadness pushed back somewhere inside. “I don’t want to talk about her. You can put your stuff over here.” He gestured to a space on his side of the room.</p><p>You were thankful for the change of subject. “Are you sure you’re okay sleeping on the couch? I don’t want to kick you out of your own bed.”</p><p>“It’s fine. Lucifer would be mad if I made you sleep on the couch, anyway.” </p><p>He turned away, leaving no further room for argument, and went about setting up a blanket and pillows for his impromptu sleeping situation while you settled hesitantly on his bed. True to his word, he did help you restart the homework you’d lost (with a lot more snack breaks than you tended to take). The awkward tension between you faded as the night went on. You chatted as you worked--about the human world, about the Devildom, about your life back home, about Beel’s and his brothers' escapades over the centuries. With how quiet he tended to be, you were pleasantly surprised at how easily he kept up a conversation. It was nice to have a chance to hang out and get to know him a little better without anyone else (Mammon) barging in and demanding your attention.</p><p>Beel closed his textbook when you started to yawn. “You should go to bed.” </p><p>As much as you might have liked to say otherwise—there was still some work left to do—you truly were tired and knew you’d regret staying up any later. “Okay,” you nodded. </p><p>You still felt bad watching Beel fit himself onto the couch before he turned off the lights with a wave of his hand, even though he’d assured you really didn’t mind. </p><p>“Good night,” he called, and you called back, “Good night.”</p><p>You were more comfortable than you thought you’d be in his bed. Right after Lucifer had said you’d be sharing a room, your immediate worry was that Beel might eat you in his sleep, but bundled up all cozy and warm in his blankets, surrounded by his scent (something mellow and clean, probably from whatever soap he used), it was hard to feel anything but relaxed. You drifted off quickly and slept, peaceful and uninterrupted, through the night. </p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>On your way to breakfast the next morning, you found Mammon lurking outside a nearly-closed door, leaning with one ear towards the gap to listen in on whatever was happening inside. He put a finger to his lips when he noticed you approaching. Against your better judgement, you sidled up alongside him to see what had captured his attention.</p><p>“...haven’t heard from Belphie.” That was Beel’s voice.</p><p>“He’s probably busy.” Lucifer. “There’s a lot to do as an exchange student.” </p><p>“But he hasn’t sent anything at all. He can’t be <em>that</em> busy.”</p><p>“Maybe he broke his DDD. It’s not as if anyone up there would be able to repair it. I’m sure he’s fine.”</p><p>“He’s probably upset, though. I just want to talk to him. He didn’t even want to go to the human world in the first place.”</p><p>“I’m aware.” Lucifer sounded irritated.</p><p>“I know you’re mad at him, but please don’t make him stay there. If you really have to send someone, I’ll go.”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“But—,”</p><p>“You understand the point of the exchange program, don’t you?”</p><p>Beel huffed. “Yeah.”</p><p>“It’s because Belphegor was against the program that I sent him. It will be good for him.”</p><p>“I guess.”</p><p>“Look, Beel, it’s not that I don’t understand how you feel. I know being apart from Belphie is hard for you. But you need to trust me. And listen to me. He’s staying in the human world. I don’t want to hear anything else about it.”</p><p>Mammon tugged on your arm. “Come on,” he whispered. “If we stay here, Lucifer’s gonna find us.”</p><p>The two of you retreated to the dining room, Lucifer and Beel entering a few minutes later, and you were almost surprised when Mammon didn’t give either of you away by trying to not-so-subtly bring up the conversation you’d overheard. You figured he’d just dismissed it--it didn’t seem like anything terribly important, after all, just Beel being upset because he missed his brother. The amount of half-eaten food on his plates suggested it was still weighing on him.</p><p>You weren’t the only one who noticed. “Are you feeling okay, Beel?” Satan asked midway through breakfast. “Usually you’d have gone back for thirds or fourths by now.”</p><p>Beel frowned at his forkful of eggs. “I’m fine.”</p><p>Satan looked unconvinced but didn’t press further. </p><p>When it came time to leave, Mammon slung his backpack over one shoulder and turned to you. “Ready to go, human?” </p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>With how nondisruptive he had been so far that morning, you figured he must have had something on his mind. Sure enough, after a minute or two of small talk he asked what he was really thinking, going back to the conversation you’d eavesdropped on between Lucifer and Beel.</p><p>“Anyone tell you about Belphie yet?”</p><p>“Beel mentioned him.”</p><p>“Hm. It’s kinda messed up, what happened. Belphie didn’t like the idea of the exchange program when Lord Diavolo thought it up. He tried to tell Lucifer, but Lucifer wouldn’t listen to a single thing he said. Just sent him straight up to the human world, and that was that.”</p><p>That seemed… dangerous. Sending a powerful, angry demon to live alone and unsupervised amongst a bunch of random humans? “Isn’t he worried Belphie might do something? Like, act out while he’s up there, if he was so against going?”</p><p>“It’d be treason to mess up the program on purpose. You can get killed for that.” Mammon scowled. “He probably would have sent him anyway, though, even if he was worried, just ‘cause Belphie spoke out against Lord Diavolo. Lucifer’s always licking that guy’s boots. Pisses me off.” </p><p>“It seems like he takes his job really seriously,” was your carefully neutral response to that.</p><p>Mammon snorted. “You don’t even know. The worst part is, he didn’t always used to be like that. I mean, he’s always been a pretty serious guy, but… eh, how do I explain this…” He thought about his next words with more care than you were used to seeing (that is to say, with any care at all). “So, we actually all used to be angels, back up in the Celestial Realm.”</p><p>You barely stopped yourself from blurting, “<em>Angels???</em>.” All of the brothers seemed so naturally attached to their cardinal sin, it was difficult to imagine there had been a time before it. </p><p>“Back then, Lucifer wasn’t such a hard ass. He loved all of us, but he especially loved Beel and Belphie and—,” he faltered, just for a second. “He was just real soft with them, you know?”</p><p>If Beel hadn't told you about Lilith last night, you probably wouldn’t have even noticed the slip-up. But now you knew that it was most likely her name Mammon had almost said. It was a sore subject for all of them, then. </p><p>“But things changed after we fell,” Mammon continued. “Lord Diavolo made Lucifer his right hand man, and now Lucifer always puts what Diavolo wants in front of anything else, no matter what. Even if it’s something he doesn’t agree with.” He kicked at a pebble on the path, sending it flying off into the bushes. “It’s just frustrating. I mean, seriously, would it kill him to be a little flexible sometimes?</p><p>“But anyway. That’s why he wouldn’t listen to Belphie. Not that I’m saying Belphie would have made him change his mind or anything, but… I dunno, if the two of them would have just talked it out, maybe it would have ended up different.”</p><p>“Yeah,” you agreed, still mulling over the fact that the brothers used to be angels. </p><p>“‘Yeah?’ That’s all you have to say?” Mammon complained. “I tell you all that stuff and you can’t think of something besides ‘yeah?’”</p><p>“What do you want me to say?”</p><p>“I want you to say how interesting it was! And how smart I sound, making those observations!”</p><p>“It was really interesting and you’re really smart,” you said, with as little enthusiasm as possible.</p><p>He gave you a playful push with his elbow. “Ah, shut up. What do I even keep you around for if you can’t at least give me some praise now and then?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” you grinned, happy that his teasing held none of the malice from when you’d first arrived. You actually did have something else to comment on, however. You just didn’t know how appropriate it would be to bring it up. “Is it rude if I ask why you stopped being angels?”</p><p>Judging by the face he made, it was at least a little rude. </p><p>“We had a fight,” was all he said. You were worried you’d ruined his good mood, but he bounced back quickly. “Angels suck, anyway. Buncha stuck-up assholes.”</p><p>You thought about Simeon and Luke. Luke, you could understand--he didn’t exactly hide his disdain for demons. Simeon, though... ‘Stuck up’ and ‘asshole’ didn’t exactly seem like fitting descriptors. <em>Angelic</em> was more appropriate. <em>Beautiful, charming, wonderful...</em></p><p>“Hey!” Mammon snapped his fingers in front of your face. “Stop daydreaming and pay attention to me.”</p><p>“I’m paying attention,” you assured him with a small smile. Exhausting as it could be, you had to admire his frankness. You never had to guess what he wanted, because the second the thought crossed his mind he broadcasted it to everyone in a five-mile radius. </p><p>“Good. We’ve got a quiz today, right? You’re gonna let me study off you!”</p><p>Just like that. </p><p> </p><p>****</p><p> </p><p>You flopped onto Beel’s/your bed at the end of the day. Mammon’s idea of “studying” off you for the quiz that afternoon had really meant “cheating,” and it landed both of you in hot water when the instructor caught him stealing answers. As if receiving detention like a child wasn’t embarrassing enough, Lucifer had chewed the two of you out the second you got home. Everyone at dinner teased you for being too nice and not telling Mammon off or using your pact to stop him.</p><p>Beel surprised you by continuing the discussion once you were both back in his room. Or trying to, at least. Your face was buried too far into his pillow to hear exactly what he said.</p><p>“Huh?” you asked, sitting up.</p><p>“I said I’m glad you’re nice to Mammon,” he repeated. “It makes him happy.”</p><p>“Oh.” You weren’t sure what you had been expecting, but it wasn’t that. </p><p>“It probably seems like we’re all really mean to him.”</p><p>You hesitated to agree (even though you very much did), not wanting it to come across as an insult, but he didn’t seem like he would get upset about it. “Yeah,” you admitted. </p><p>Beel nodded. “He deserves some of it. He steals our stuff all the time, and he’s always getting himself in trouble. But I know he can’t really help it.” His stomach rumbled loudly, as if to emphasize his point. “He knows everyone cares about him. It’s just easier to pick on him. And it’s been like that for so long now, everyone’s just gotten used to it.” </p><p>He sat down on the bed next to you and you nearly tipped over onto him as the mattress dipped under his weight. </p><p>“I think it still bothers him sometimes. He won’t say anything about it, though; he wants everyone to think he’s tough. He’s just like Lucifer.”</p><p>You had to laugh at that. Beel smiled, too. </p><p>“I know. Lucifer wouldn’t like to hear me say that. But it’s true.” He considered you for a moment, and you wondered what he was thinking. Did he still see you as some kind of forbidden snack? Were you more like an interesting pet?</p><p>“Anyway. It’s good that you’re nice to him. Just be careful. Mammon’s not bad--I mean, he is bad, but… He’ll take advantage of it, if you’re too nice. Even if he likes you. It’s in his nature.”</p><p>He was still staring at you, his pink-purple eyes far less piercing than Lucifer or Asmo but no less keen. You weren’t sure how exactly to respond and the silence started to stretch a little uncomfortably, until your DDD pinged. Beel seemed to take that as a sign that your conversation was over, and left the bed to grab his pajamas and go change in the bathroom (he had casually started pulling his pants off in front of you last night and you’d just about choked). You swiped open the device to see a message from Luke.</p><p><strong>Luke:</strong> I’m at the front gate. Can you come outside?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another weird chapter that I’m not really satisfied with, but I am enjoying starting to dive into Beel’s character a little. I’m so excited for the scene where he asks to hold your hand, it’s literally one of my favorite moments in the whole game uwu</p><p>Thank you for reading and thank you so much for your kudos and comments, it makes me so incredibly happy to know you guys are enjoying this!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Luke</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Beel’s room is turning into a hotel</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You stared at Luke’s message for a moment before typing out a response. Why was he outside the House of Lamentation? That was the obvious question, but if he was already there, possibly by himself, you were more concerned with making sure he was okay. Angel or not, he was just a child.</p><p><strong>You:</strong> Be there in a sec</p><p>You slipped your DDD into your pocket and pulled on a sweatshirt in case Luke needed you to go somewhere with him. “I’ll be right back,” you called to Beel.</p><p>He poked his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. “M’kay.”</p><p>Everyone else in the house had retired to their rooms after dinner, leaving your path to the front door uninterrupted. You counted yourself lucky--none of the brothers were necessarily <em>hostile</em> towards Luke, but they definitely all agitated him, and if something really was wrong you didn’t want them around making it worse. One “chihuahua” comment and you’d have to spend half the night just calming him down.</p><p>Outside, Luke’s white clothes made him instantly visible in the darkness at the end of the drive. Any demon lurking around looking for an easy target would have no trouble at all picking him out, especially since he had, in fact, come alone, Simeon nowhere to be found.</p><p>He shouted out your name the second he spotted you. “Thank you, thank you! I was so worried! I don’t know what I’d do if someone saw me hanging out in a place like this!”</p><p>You swung the wrought-iron gate open just wide enough to let him onto the property and he slipped through. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“No, I’m not okay! Nothing is okay!”</p><p>As upset as he looked, he didn’t seem to be physically hurt at all. “What happened?”</p><p>“I can’t tell you out here. Can we go to your room? Please?” He tugged on your sleeve, trying to move you back towards the house.</p><p>“Um…” Somehow you assumed that telling him your room had been destroyed wouldn’t go over well. He was always making comments at RAD about not trusting the brothers and being worried about your safety; if he heard that Beel nearly crushed you in a custard-fueled tantrum you doubted even Diavolo would be able to stop him from storming the House of Lamentation and stealing you away.</p><p>“Please, MC, come on!” he whined.</p><p>You sighed, and with an internal apology to Beel, gave in. “Okay.”</p><p>Luke stayed close behind you on your way through the house, casting anxious glances down every hall as if one of the brothers were going to jump out and grab him. When you opened Beel’s door, he rushed in, only to stop in his tracks when he realized where he was.</p><p>“Why are we in Beelzebub’s room!?”</p><p>Beel, several bags of chips in hand, was so caught off guard he paused chewing for a second. “What is Luke doing here?”</p><p>“I asked first!” Luke said, then, to you, demanded, “Why aren’t we in <em>your</em> room?”</p><p>“It’s… being renovated,” you said, making pointed eye contact with Beel and hoping he would understand that you were trying to save him some trouble.</p><p>“Why?” Luke asked. “What was wrong with it?”</p><p>You blurted the first thing that came to mind. “There was mold.”</p><p>Luke’s face scrunched up in disgust. “Gross! I knew these demons couldn’t take proper care of a human. You need to come stay with me and Simeon at Purgatory Hall!”</p><p>“MC is fine here,” Beel said. “We’re sharing a room for now.” He looked at you with… disapproval? It was something negative, at least, and it didn’t feel good. “It’s past curfew. We’re going to get in trouble if someone finds out he’s here.”</p><p>“Nobody will find out!” Luke cried before you could say anything. “I promise! I just need to stay here for a little while, please! Don’t make me go back!”</p><p>You held your hands out in a placating gesture while Beel went over to the couch and rooted around in his school bag. “It’s okay! It’s okay. Can you tell me what’s going on now?”</p><p>Luke waged an internal debate that seemed to be mostly centered around the fact that Beel was in the room. “It’s… it’s Simeon,” he admitted.</p><p>“Simeon?” you repeated, immediately worried about what could have happened. “Is he all right?”</p><p>“He’s fine! He’s better than fine, that’s the problem!”</p><p>You shared a puzzled look with Beel, who returned from the couch with a bottle of juice, which he offered to Luke. </p><p>Luke flinched away as if he had been presented with a severed head. “Wh—what’s that supposed to be!? Some <em>demon</em> drink? It’s probably some creature’s blood!”</p><p>“It’s pomegranate juice,” Beel said flatly. </p><p>“Oh.” Luke took the bottle and gave it an experimental sniff, just to be sure. “Thank you… But why would you give this to me? You don’t share food. Are you trying to trick me?”</p><p>“I thought it might help you calm down. You need to be quiet.” Beel smiled slightly. “And you gave me some cake the other day.”</p><p>“I—oh, I guess I did. Even though you were only supposed to taste it, and you ate the whole thing!”</p><p>“It was good,” Beel said, completely unapologetic. “You’re good at baking.”</p><p>“It wasn’t that great, I’m still just learning.” Luke stared at the floor and fiddled with the bottle of juice in his hands, no doubt trying to hide the blush that rose to his cheeks at Beel’s compliment. “Not that I care what some demon thinks, anyway.”</p><p>You attempted to steer the conversation back on topic. “So what’s wrong with Simeon?”</p><p>“Oh! Right!” Luke snapped back into angry child mode and his explanation tumbled out in a rush. “This is all his fault! He’s getting way too chummy with these demons. We’re ANGELS, proud inhabitants of the Celestial Realm! Yet because of this ‘exchange program,’ we’ve been sent down here to the Devildom of all places—and what’s more, we’re supposed to <em>associate</em> with demons! It’s unbelievable! Just the idea of speaking with one face-to-face is repulsive!”</p><p>Beel frowned but didn’t interrupt.</p><p>“If we go making friends with demons, what do you think is going to happen next, huh?” Luke continued. “I’ll tell you what: we’ll be corrupted! I’m always warning him about this, but he ignores me. Then he just leaves to have tea with Diavolo… He even suggested that I ask Barbatos to instruct me in the finer points of baking! Can you believe it!? I know Barbatos is supposed to be the greatest pastry chef in all the three worlds, but he’s a DEMON. Simeon won’t listen to a thing I say! I could disappear off the face of the earth for all he cared! In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he even finds me annoying! Maybe he thinks of me like a dog, too—a noisy dog that never shuts up!” His eyes shimmered with tears. “He would rather spend time with DEMONS than with me!”</p><p>“No, no it’s okay,” you assured him, resisting the urge to cup his face in your hands. “Simeon doesn’t think you’re annoying.”</p><p>“You’re just jealous,” Beel said.</p><p>“I am not! I would never be jealous! I’m just… worried about him. It’s not good for angels to spend so much time around demons!”</p><p>You wracked your brain for a way to spin Luke’s dilemma in a positive light. “You trust Simeon, don’t you?”</p><p>“Yes…”</p><p>“Is he a good angel?”</p><p>“Of course! He’s one of the best!”</p><p>“Then you have to believe he knows what he’s doing. Isn’t it good that he’s kind enough to give everyone a chance?”</p><p>Luke considered your point. “But what if those demons try to corrupt him?”</p><p>You glanced at Beel. “Do you want to corrupt Simeon?” <em>Please, please say no. I don’t even care if you’re lying, just say no.</em></p><p>“Not really,” he said through a mouthful of chips.</p><p>“Do any of your brothers?”</p><p>He shrugged. “Probably not.”</p><p>“But you’re demons!” Luke insisted. “That’s what you do!”</p><p>“Is it?”</p><p>Luke opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again, something about the simple question apparently getting through to him. You took advantage of his momentary silence to press, “Simeon is probably worried that you’re gone. I’m sure he’ll come walk back with you if we call—,”</p><p>“No!” Luke cut you off with a startling amount of force. “I mean... I told Simeon our friendship was over, and then I stormed out of the dorm, so I can’t go crawling back now, not after I did that.” He sniffled and rubbed his sleeve over his face, ensuring that any potential tears were wiped away. “Which is why I’m asking you to let me stay here for a while.”</p><p>“Even though you hate demons?” Beel pointed out.</p><p>“Well, what choice do I have?” Luke snapped. “This is the only place I could think of to go. It’s not like I want to hang around a bunch of demons, I just wanted to stay with MC…” </p><p>He fixed you with puppy-dog eyes pitiful enough to make you want to scoop him up into a big hug and pat his sweet little head. Beel just pursed his lips, waiting to hear what you had to say.</p><p>As much as you wanted to agree, you <em>were</em> in Beel’s room, so ultimately it was his choice. You told this to Luke and he grimaced, but the shame of returning to Simeon after his outburst apparently outweighed the shame of begging a demon for help.</p><p>“Please, Beelzebub? I swear I won’t be any trouble. I’ll even bake another cake for you, if you want!”</p><p>Beel’s eyebrows raised at the promise of cake. “...Fine. Just make sure no one finds out, especially Lucifer, or you’ll get kicked out and we’ll all be in trouble.”</p><p>Luke bounced up and down. “Really!? I can stay!? Oh, thank you so much! No one will find me, no way!”</p><p>“They will if you can’t keep quiet,” Beel muttered.</p><p>“Where should I sleep? MC and I can each take a bed, right?” Luke raced further into the room, all inhibitions cast aside now that he’d been given the OK to stick around.</p><p>Beel ripped open his last bag of chips. “No one’s sleeping in the purple bed.”</p><p>“What? Why not?”</p><p>“Because it’s my room, and I said no one’s sleeping there.”</p><p>You noted the marked difference in the way he responded to Luke’s questioning versus the way he had responded to yours. Not that you blamed him. You’d never called him ‘repulsive’ or treated him like a monster.</p><p>“Then what am I supposed to do?” Luke pouted. “Sleep on the floor?”</p><p>“You could,” Beel said.</p><p>“No! Just because you call me a dog doesn’t mean you get to treat me like one! How about <em>you</em> sleep on the floor?”</p><p>Beel narrowed his eyes. A faint disturbance swept through the air, like a draft from an unseen window, and Luke shrank back.</p><p>“I… nevermind.” Luke shuffled closer to you and mumbled, “Can I, um… Would it be okay if I shared the bed with you?”</p><p>“Of course.” He was small enough and the bed was large enough that you doubted you’d even notice he was there.</p><p>“Thanks,” he smiled. “Oh, uh… I don’t have any pajamas.”</p><p>You looked to Beel, but he just stared back and kept crunching on the last of his chips.</p><p>“You can use some of mine,” you sighed.</p><p>Beel was mostly silent as the three of you finished getting ready for bed. Once everyone settled in and he turned out the lights, you called out a goodnight, and were relieved to hear him respond in kind. At least he wasn’t mad at you. You were surprised, actually, that he’d agreed to let Luke stay. Discovering the unexpected ways each of the brothers showed kindness amidst all their harsher traits was interesting. It definitely painted a more complex picture of demons than what you’d have imagined before. </p><p>Luke murmured his own goodnight to you, and drifted off within minutes. All bundled up in the covers, devoid of his Celestial Realm attire, he looked even more like a defenseless child than normal. Even though you knew, logically, he was far older and stronger than you, it was just hard to look at that face and see anything other than a kid who needed protection. </p><p>Until he started kicking in his sleep, <em>hard</em>, and you wished that maybe you had left the little shit standing outside after all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel like these chapters keep getting away from me. More was supposed to happen here, but uh. This is what we ended up with lol. I got even more hours added to my schedule at work and it’s really kicking my ass, so updates will continue to be slow and sporadic, sorry :( But thank you for sticking around!! I’m really excited to write the confrontation with Lucifer and the soft scene with Beel, so that’s keeping me motivated and will hopefully spur me to get the next couple chapters done a little quicker. Love u all &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Vanishing Act</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You’re not cut out to be a babysitter</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beel woke early the next morning to go on a run before breakfast. He wasn’t terribly loud, but you had already been having trouble staying asleep thanks to the angel sharing your bed, so if the sounds of him getting ready didn’t wake you up, Luke’s incessant kicking would have. Once dressed, Beel grabbed a water bottle and slipped out the door, locking it behind him with a soft <em>click.</em></p>
<p>You yawned and stretched out under the blankets. Maybe fifteen or so more minutes, and then you’d get up.</p>
<p>Beside you, Luke also stirred. “Mm… morning?” he mumbled, and you couldn’t tell if it was a greeting or a question. </p>
<p>“It’s still early,” you said. “We don’t have to get up yet.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” He pushed himself upright anyway and stretched his arms over his head, blinking away the sleep and shaking out his bedhead. “That’s okay! It’s good to get started early.”</p>
<p>You groaned and buried your face in the pillow. The level of enthusiasm in his voice was far too high for the time of day. </p>
<p>“I’ll get ready first! The bathroom is over here, right? Oh, but I don’t have a toothbrush. Do you have any extras?”</p>
<p>“Mmph,” you grumbled.</p>
<p>Undeterred by your lack of response, Luke kept chattering on while he ran around the room getting ready: Isn’t it weird that Beelzebub doesn’t want anyone to use the other bed, I think there’s going to be a quiz in my potions class today, what do you guys usually have for breakfast here, I can’t believe there was mold in your room, I wonder what Simeon is doing right now, hey I found some candy bars in this drawer, etc. etc. You quickly realized there was no chance of getting any more sleep now.</p>
<p>“I’m going to take a shower,” you said, and Luke, ever the guardian angel, assured you that he would keep Beelzebub out of the bathroom if he got back before you were finished. You highly doubted it would be an issue, but thanked him anyway.</p>
<p>Beel’s shower was the opposite of what you’d imagine Asmo’s to be. There was one bottle of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner and one bottle of body wash, and that was it. You used both, assuming he wouldn’t mind. There were a few more products on the other end of the counter--another set of soap and shampoo in different scents, and some bath oils, but they were covered in a thin layer of dust. Belphegor’s, most likely.</p>
<p>You changed into your RAD uniform and stepped back into the bedroom, where Luke was busy examining a cluster of photographs hanging over Beel’s bed.</p>
<p>“There’s a picture from the Celestial Realm here!” he exclaimed.</p>
<p>“Really?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, look!”</p>
<p>You joined him at the bedside, curious about how there could be anything from the Celestial Realm here. From what you understood, the brothers hadn’t exactly been given the opportunity to pack their things and move out peacefully.</p>
<p>“This one, right here,” Luke said.</p>
<p>The photo in question showed Beel smiling, dressed in white, arms wrapped around two others--a dark haired boy and a laughing girl. Angelic outfits aside, the bright sunlight shining down around them marked it out as clearly not being taken in the Devildom.</p>
<p>“Is that Belphegor?” you asked. It was a little hard to tell from the small picture, but it looked like the boy and Beel had the same vividly colored eyes.</p>
<p>Luke nodded. “And…” </p>
<p>He seemed hesitant to speak, for once.  </p>
<p>“And Lilith?” you guessed. </p>
<p>He glanced at you, surprised, and you supposed it <em>was</em> surprising that even a single one of these demons had shared any details about their familial trauma to you, a random human. </p>
<p>“They told you about her?” </p>
<p>“Not much. Beel just mentioned that she passed away.”</p>
<p>Luke started to say something, then thought better of it and closed his mouth, lips pursed, and looked back to the photo. “Yeah. She passed away.”</p>
<p>The lock clicked then as Beel returned from his run and Luke jolted away from the bed, either startled by the sudden sound or guilty over being caught snooping. Maybe both. </p>
<p>“You should knock before you come in!” he said.</p>
<p>Beel stared at him like he was trying to figure out if he was serious or not. “It’s my room.”</p>
<p>“Well, right now it’s my room too!”</p>
<p>This argument earned nothing but a resigned sigh as Beel gathered the pieces of his uniform and headed towards the bathroom. “I have to take a quick shower. We can figure out what to do with you after.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean, ‘what to do with me’!?” Luke cried, but the door was already shut and the sound of running water followed seconds later. “I’m not just some <em>thing</em>, you know!”</p>
<p>“He just means we have to figure out how to get you out of here without anyone noticing,” you said. </p>
<p>Luke crossed his arms and pouted at the floor. “But I don’t want to go back to Purgatory Hall yet…”</p>
<p>“You can’t stay here while everyone’s in class, though. Maybe you can come back after. I can ask if it’s okay for you to come over to study with me, that way you wouldn’t even have to hide.”</p>
<p>His eyes lit up. “And I wouldn’t have to stay in Beelzebub’s room! That’s perfect!”</p>
<p>“Right. So you can probably sneak out while we’re at breakfast, or else just wait for everyone to leave and then come out after us, and then I’ll invite you back after classes.”</p>
<p>“Could you actually bring me some breakfast?” Luke asked. “And then I’ll leave? I don’t want to start the day without eating anything, or I won’t be able to focus, and then—,”</p>
<p>You cut him off before he could go on a tangent. “I can bring you some food, yes.”</p>
<p>“Oh, thank you, that’s great! You’re so nice! I just don’t want any of that weird stuff demons like, okay? And nothing tomato flavored. And there are some cheeses I don’t like; it depends on what kind—,”</p>
<p>“I’m just going to bring you whatever I eat. It’s going to look suspicious if I hand pick a whole separate meal to pack up.” </p>
<p>Luke huffed but didn’t argue. Beel came out of the shower a few minutes later, and after you explained the plan (“I’m not giving him any of my breakfast.” “It’s okay, Beel, you don’t have to, I’ll give him some of mine.”) the two of you headed down to the dining room. </p>
<p>Nobody gave any indication that they knew you had an angel hiding in your room, which was a relief. You were sure that somehow Lucifer would have found out. It was a little thrilling, knowing you had successfully kept a secret from him (so far), but also a little terrifying, worrying about what would happen if he caught you. </p>
<p>You piled a little more food than normal onto your plate and picked around it throughout the meal. By the time everyone else was finishing up, there was enough left to give Luke a decent breakfast, without looking like you were doing anything more than saving some leftovers.</p>
<p>“Is that all you’re gonna eat?” Mammon asked, and all eyes at the table turned to you. Great. “You’re gonna be hungry again before lunch. Are you sick or something?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” you said, “I just don’t feel great. It’s fine, though, I’m just going to save the rest and I’ll have it later.”</p>
<p>Asmo pointed a single pink-painted finger at you. “It’s homesickness, isn’t it? You must miss the human world. Even though you have me here to keep you company, I suppose it must be hard…”</p>
<p>“They’re probably homesick ‘cause they wanna get away from you and your pervert little hands!” Mammon said.</p>
<p>“They’re probably homesick because they’re tired of listening to you run your stupid mouth!”</p>
<p>You took the inevitable bickering as your cue to slip away, presumably to the kitchen to box up your leftovers, but actually back to Beel’s room to deliver them to Luke. </p>
<p>“Here’s your food,” you called as you stepped inside.</p>
<p>There was no answer.</p>
<p>“Luke?” You glanced around the room, but everything was still and quiet. “Luke, are you here?” </p>
<p>You pulled out your phone to see if maybe he’d sent you a text about leaving during breakfast after all. Nothing. A closer inspection of the room didn’t turn up any note or any clues as to where he had gone, either. Did he wander off to explore the house and lose track of time? Did he leave without bothering to tell you? Jesus Christ, you hadn’t even been gone that long. How did Simeon handle this kid?</p>
<p>You sent a message to Beel to let him know what happened.</p>
<p><strong>You:</strong> Luke is gone??? I don’t know where he went but he’s not in your room</p>
<p>It only took a few moments for him to open it. The little pencil icon appeared as he typed out a response.</p>
<p><strong>Beel:</strong> Shit.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just another short little baby chapter..... I could make them longer, but I just want to post everything as soon as I can since it takes me so long. Maybe once it’s all finished I’ll go back and edit some of the chapters together. </p>
<p>I made a side twitter for obey me if you want to be friends! I’m @obmouse, feel free to yell at me about stuff lol. </p>
<p>As always, thank you for reading!! (*^ω^*)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Missing Angel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It shouldn’t be this hard to find one loudmouth angel in a big dorky outfit. Where could he possibly have gone?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beel hurried back to you with the excuse that he’d forgotten a textbook, and both of you did another sweep of the room that managed to turn up Luke’s DDD, fallen partway under the bed, but nothing more. </p>
<p>“We can’t keep looking right now,” Beel said, stowing the phone in his jacket. “If we’re late to class, Lucifer will get on us about it, and then he’ll find out for sure.”</p>
<p>“We can see if he’s at RAD when we get there. Maybe he just skipped breakfast and left early.”</p>
<p>Beel didn’t seem hopeful. “Maybe.”</p>
<p>Mammon was still there when you went back downstairs, waiting to walk to campus together. He tried several times to start a conversation on the way but neither you nor Beel were in much of a mood to chat, too preoccupied with what trouble Luke could have possibly gotten into (and what trouble <em>you</em> would be in if you didn’t figure things out). </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Mammon was more observant than most people gave him credit for. “All right, what’s going on?” he asked, annoyed. “You two are acting weird.”</p>
<p>“No we’re not,” Beel said, which is exactly the wrong thing to say when someone accuses you of acting weird.</p>
<p>“Yeah you are! I went back to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water after breakfast and you weren’t there,” Mammon said to you, “and I saw your bag at the table, and you weren’t missing any books!” he continued to Beel. “So spill it!”</p>
<p>You and Beel exchanged a look. He failed to offer any convenient excuses, so you threw out the first thing that crossed your mind. </p>
<p>“We were making out.”</p>
<p>Beel’s eyebrows shot up and Mammon’s face went completely red in record time. You were pretty sure your own face sported a bit of color as well.</p>
<p>“You—what!?” Mammon sputtered, looking incredulously back and forth between the two of you. When neither of you provided any further details, he rounded on Beel. “You better not be putting your mouth anywhere on my fucking human! Don’t even touch them!”</p>
<p>“Hey, whoa, Mammon!” You grabbed his shoulder and turned him away from his brother. “I was joking! We weren’t making out. I just thought it would be funny to say.”</p>
<p>He narrowed his eyes at you, gauging the truth of your words. “Yeah, well. Wasn’t very funny,” he grumbled after a few seconds. </p>
<p>Beel, on the other hand, had a slight smile on his face. “<em>Your</em> human?” he said. </p>
<p>Mammon looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. “I didn’t— I just— I have a pact with them, don’t I? That’s all I meant.”</p>
<p>Beel just hummed in response. </p>
<p>The subject was thankfully dropped after that (along with all other attempts at conversation) and Mammon ran off immediately when you reached campus, leaving you and Beel with a moment to plan your search for Luke.</p>
<p>“Does he have any classes with you?” Beel asked.</p>
<p>“One, but Simeon is in it, too. Do you think he’d skip it if he’s still too embarrassed to talk to him?”</p>
<p>“He might. I know his second class today is in the same hall as mine, so I’ll watch for him then. And we can both keep an eye out in the cafeteria.”</p>
<p>You nodded. “Okay. I’m sure he’s here, he wouldn’t want to stay in the house anyway.”</p>
<p>If your optimism had any effect on Beel, he didn’t show it. </p>
<p>Your first class of the day rolled by without word from him and without any luck on your part. By the end of the second, you only had one message:</p>
<p><strong>Beel:</strong> He wasn’t there </p>
<p>Neither of you saw him at lunch, either, and any last shreds of hope you had were lost when your final class started and his usual seat next to Simeon remained empty. You were in the middle of texting Beel the bad news when the older angel approached you after the final bell. </p>
<p>“It’s good to see you,” he said, all soft eyes and gentle smile, and you instantly felt ten times worse than you already did. “You’re looking after Luke, right? I hope he isn’t causing you too much trouble.”</p>
<p>“No, he’s fine, just kind of… hyper.” <em>I’m lying to an angel I’m lying to an angel I’m lying to—</em></p>
<p>Simeon chuckled. “He can be a handful. I’m sorry you got caught up in this; I tried to stop him, but I’m afraid he was just too quick. I appreciate you watching him while he calms down, though. Thank you.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” you said, shifting uncomfortably in your seat. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.”</p>
<p>“He’ll be ready to come back before long,” Simeon assured you. “He’s still young and immature as angels go, so this exchange hasn’t been easy for him. He tends to judge everything in life from the perspective of the Celestial Realm. It makes him honest and genuine, and gives him a strict set of values to adhere to, but it also makes situations like these difficult for him to handle.”</p>
<p>“It seems that way,” you agreed.</p>
<p>Simeon offered you a hand as the last few students in the room trickled out. You took it and rose from your seat, wondering if he could feel you burning with shame in the brief seconds of contact. </p>
<p>“Is anyone walking you home today?” he asked. </p>
<p>“Beel is.”</p>
<p>“I’ll see you to the entrance, then.” </p>
<p>He continued to reflect on Luke while you made your way back. “When the two of us were originally chosen for this program, Luke was very upset. He didn’t want anything to do with it. But personally, I thought studying in the Devildom would be a good opportunity for him. It’s a chance for him to expand his perspective.”</p>
<p>“Were a lot of angels against it?” you asked, genuinely curious. If Luke’s views were the norm in the Celestial Realm, you couldn’t imagine anyone there would have been enthusiastic about the idea of spending a year in hell. </p>
<p>“A fair amount. I can understand their concern. Demons are beyond redemption and angels are susceptible to corruption, and we work toward opposite goals as far as humans are concerned. It may seem pointless to attempt any sort of uneasy peace between us. But I don’t think things are ever quite so black and white, wouldn’t you agree?” </p>
<p>It was, perhaps, a rather bold statement to make to someone who had nearly been killed and eaten not even two weeks ago, but you did find yourself nodding in agreement. For as vividly as you recalled the pain and fear of a demon being exactly what Luke believed them to be, you also remembered how gingerly Mammon had tended to you after, the look of concern on his face as he did his best to gently bandage your wounds. </p>
<p>“Regardless, I’m sure this will be an interesting year,” Simeon concluded as you approached RAD’s main entrance. Beel was there waiting for you, and he quickly suppressed a worried look when he caught sight of the angel, probably fearing your secret had been blown. </p>
<p>“Yeah, for sure.” You gave Simeon your best attempt at a normal, non-anxious smile. “Thanks for walking with me.”</p>
<p>“Of course. And thank you again for taking care of Luke.” He inclined his head to Beel as well before heading off to Purgatory hall. “Good to see you, Beel.”</p>
<p>“Mhm.” Beel watched him leave, waiting until he was a safe distance away before turning to you and asking, “You didn’t tell him?”</p>
<p>“No… He was being so nice and he was so glad I was watching Luke, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything that would upset him.”</p>
<p>Beel patted your shoulder sympathetically. You startled a little at the touch, not used to receiving it from any of the brothers (aside from Asmo, who had no qualms about invading your personal space). It was gentle, though, and admittedly comforting. “It’s okay. If we still can’t find him, I’ll tell Simeon.”</p>
<p>You just sighed. As much of a relief as it would be to not be the bearer of bad news, you didn’t want to throw Beel under the bus, either. “Let’s just hope we find him.”</p>
<p>Once back at the House of Lamentation, the two of you split up to do a thorough sweep of each room, starting with the first floor. You poked into every nook and cranny, finding nothing but dust bunnies and spiders (and a few valuables it looked like Mammon must have stowed away and then lost), and then reconvened with Beel in the entryway before moving upstairs. </p>
<p>“It’s mostly just me and my brothers’ rooms up here,” he said, “so I don’t know how much we’ll actually be able to search.”</p>
<p>You grimaced. Your options were growing slimmer by the minute. “Let’s just check where we can, then finish in your room to make sure he didn’t come back while we were out.”</p>
<p>“All right. I’ll take this side.” Beel set off to cover his half of the floor. “Good luck.”</p>
<p>“You too.”</p>
<p>Like he had said, searching upstairs was complicated by the fact that it was almost entirely bedrooms. If any of the brothers caught you wandering around it was guaranteed to end with a lot of questions, and you’d either get roped into doing something else or they’d find out what had happened and it would turn into a huge ordeal. </p>
<p>Thankfully, once the brothers holed up in their rooms, they tended to stay there. The only one you were concerned about was Mammon. He was always running off to do this or that, usually something involving money. His room was on the opposite side of the house, though, so it was Beel’s problem for now. </p>
<p>You made your way through the floor fairly quickly, turning up nothing along the way. At this point, getting in trouble was hardly even a concern anymore. You were genuinely worried for Luke. He clearly thought of himself as a tough angel, capable of defending himself, but you couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of horrors he might have run into down here. All alone, there was no way he’d be able to put up a fight against something—or someone—that really wanted to hurt him. Even though you knew, logically, he wasn’t your responsibility, he had come to you for comfort and you had gone and lost him, so it felt like anything that followed that point was your fault. </p>
<p>One of the brothers calling your name pulled you from your grim train of thought. You turned around, realizing in the same second that it couldn’t have been any of the brothers.</p>
<p>The voice was female. </p>
<p>Sure enough, you were alone in the hall. The hair on the back of your neck stood up as a chill swept over you. There <em>had</em> to be a ghost in this house, there absolutely had to be. You’d ask Lucifer about it first thing after this fiasco got sorted out. </p>
<p>Thoroughly spooked, you started to head back to Beel’s room, only to feel the whisper of a hand grasp at your arm. You nearly shrieked as you jerked away from the invisible touch. It felt like someone was right there beside you, but when you looked there was—</p>
<p>...A staircase. A big fucking staircase that you could have sworn wasn’t there before. How had you missed that? You had walked right past it. You must have glossed over it somehow, maybe because your nerves were making you lose focus. </p>
<p>As much as you wanted to get the hell away from the ghost that was definitely hanging around there, it was one more place Luke could have gotten into, so you had to check it out. You took one step towards the spiral stairs and were instantly seized with the thought that you had somewhere else to be, somewhere important. It was enough to make you step back and almost enough to send you back to Beel’s room, because surely that’s what you were forgetting, there was something you really needed to tell him—but you shook yourself out of it. No, you needed to look for Luke. Nothing else mattered right now. </p>
<p>You sprinted up the staircase before anything else could psyche you out. A metal door, almost more of a gate, stood closed at the top. Your heart soared for a brief moment when you spotted a shape curled up under some blankets in the center of the room beyond, thinking you’d finally managed to find Luke, but a head of dark hair shifting into view dashed those hopes just seconds later. </p>
<p>And then the panic set in as you realized what that meant. If it wasn’t Luke in there… who was it?</p>
<p>The figure tossed and turned—asleep. He was asleep. You inched back towards the stairs. Clearly all the weirdness you’d just experienced had been for a reason, that reason being <em>you were not supposed to be up here.</em> Why had no one told you about this? Warned you? Did they even know about it? Had you stumbled upon some sort of entire ghost-room? </p>
<p>While you stood there having a minor meltdown, the maybe-ghost cracked one eye open. Shit. Too much panicking and not enough running away. </p>
<p>You both stared at each other, the awkward, tension-filled stare of two creatures sizing each other up, waiting to see what the other will do. Run? Attack?</p>
<p>The stranger’s mouth curled into a lazy smile. </p>
<p>“Finally.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whooooaaaaaa bet you didn’t see that ending coming</p>
<p>Your continued support of this story makes me so happy, I know the slow updates are hell but it means so much to me that you guys are still sticking with it. I did post a couple chapters in a shorter collection of one-offs over the past few days, so I’m trying my best to get something out there even if it’s not full chapters of this story! </p>
<p>Thank you, love you, hopefully I will have more for you soon&lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Belphegor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The seventh brother is revealed, and Lucifer loses his cool</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The person in the room sat up, shedding layers of blankets to reveal a slender man who seemed to be more or less the same age as the brothers. He looked familiar, for some reason, though you were sure you’d never met him before. </p>
<p>“I knew you would find me.” </p>
<p>You took a step back as he rose to his feet and approached the door. </p>
<p>“It’s okay,” he said, “I’m not going to hurt you. I need your help.” He grasped the metal bars, staring at you with as much intensity as his sleepy expression could allow. At this closer distance, you noticed how vibrant a color his eyes were—deep purple flecked with pink.</p>
<p>Just like Beel’s.</p>
<p>It struck you, then, where you’d seen him before. He was in the picture from the Celestial Realm that Luke had pointed out this morning. He and Beel were younger in the photo, faces slightly softer, but with that shaggy, dark hair and those bright eyes, it had to be him. Plus, he had been sleeping when you found him, and the last brother was the Avatar of Sloth.</p>
<p>But why was he here? Everyone said he had been sent to the human world as an exchange student. Clearly something fishy was going on.</p>
<p>Belphegor, unaware of your revelation, continued with his plea. “I’m human, too. Lucifer trapped me up here ages ago and I can’t get out. You have to help me, please.”</p>
<p>Your brow furrowed in confusion. “...Aren’t you Belphegor?”</p>
<p>Whatever he was expecting you to say, it wasn’t that. His face went totally blank as he blinked at you, like his whole brain had to reboot to process the fact that you already knew who he was. Then he just looked disappointed. </p>
<p>“How did you know?”</p>
<p>“You have Beel’s eyes. He said you’re twins.”</p>
<p>Belphegor huffed out a humorless laugh. “Of course it was Beel.” He slumped against the door, faux-urgency gone now that you’d seen through his lie so quickly. “I was hoping it would take you longer to realize.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>He smirked. “Humans are stupid. I just wanted to tease you.”</p>
<p>Unease twisted in the pit of your stomach. Being near him gave you the same feeling you sometimes got when lesser demons eyed you at RAD. Still, he was one of the brothers, and for some reason he was sitting here locked in an attic when he was supposed to be in the human world. You couldn’t just run away without finding out what was going on.</p>
<p>“Why are you in there?” you asked.</p>
<p>“I was telling the truth about that part. Lucifer really did lock me up.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“We had a fight.”</p>
<p>That followed what Mammon had said, but it still didn’t make sense. Even taking into account how liberally Lucifer liked to dole out punishments, locking his own brother away for an entire year and lying to the rest of his family about it seemed like too much for something as simple as a disagreement. “About what?”</p>
<p>“Does it matter?” Belphegor snapped. “The point is, I’m stuck here, and I need you to get me out.” His glare softened slightly. “Please.”</p>
<p>Something inside you (your self of self-preservation, maybe) told you it would be a mistake to trust him. But you had been hesitant to trust the rest of the brothers when you first arrived, too, and things were turning out okay with them now that you had all gotten to know each other a little better. Belphegor was probably just snippy because he had been stuck here all alone. And Beel loved him and missed him so much--that had to say something positive about his character. </p>
<p>“Should I tell someone?” you asked, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. </p>
<p>He shook his head. “No. As much as I would love to see the looks on my brothers’ faces if they found out that Lucifer was keeping me up here, it wouldn’t end well. They’d get mad and confront him and it would turn into a huge fight.” He sighed and looked away, back into the attic. “I just want to talk to Lucifer. If I could do that, he’d realize everything was just a misunderstanding.”</p>
<p>“Can’t you talk to him when he comes up to bring you food or something?”</p>
<p>Belphegor laughed once. “He hasn’t come to see me once since he locked me up. He uses imps to send all my meals.”</p>
<p>You filed away the <em>imps</em> thing to ask someone else about later. “So what am I supposed to do?”</p>
<p>He turned his gaze back to you. “You have a pact with Mammon,” he said, not as a question, but a statement of fact. When you nodded, he made a derisive noise. “Thought so. I can feel his magic on you. You probably had an easy time conning that idiot into a pact, but if you want to open this door, you’re going to need to make ones with the rest of my brothers, too.”</p>
<p>He had to be teasing you again. There was no way in hell any of them would agree to that, and regardless, you’d never be brave enough to ask them. Lucifer alone would probably kill you on the spot. </p>
<p>But Belphegor gave no indication that he was joking this time. When you didn’t respond right away, he explained further: “The spells keeping me in here need their combined power to undo. If you can harness it through pacts with each of them, you should be able to get me out.”</p>
<p>You posed what seemed like an obvious question. “What if they don’t want to make pacts with me?”</p>
<p>“I’m sure they don’t, right now. But you’ll just have to get them to trust you. Beel probably already does, at least a little, if he told you about me. Start with him.”</p>
<p>You didn’t like the idea of using any of the brothers like that, even if it was for a good cause in the end. And what did you have to offer them, anyway? Sure, you wanted to help Belphegor, but not enough to give up your soul. </p>
<p>“You’re all the hope I have,” he said, as if sensing your hesitance. “I need you to do this for me, please.”</p>
<p>All you could think of when you met his pleading gaze was Beel, begging Lucifer to bring his little brother back. It would break his heart to know he was actually so close. </p>
<p>“...I can try,” you said. </p>
<p>Belphegor smiled. “Thank you. I know you—,”</p>
<p>Your DDD chimed from your pocket, cutting him off. The sudden sound reminded you that you had in fact been in the middle of something, and were supposed to be meeting back up with Beel to discuss how to handle the Luke situation. </p>
<p>“Sorry,” you said, pulling out the device to check your messages. </p>
<p><strong>Beel:</strong> Where are you? I’m back in the room<br/>
<strong>Beel:</strong> Didn’t find him </p>
<p>“It’s okay,” Belphegor sighed. He turned and headed back to his nest of blankets, settling down with a yawn. “You should go. And remember: don’t tell anyone.”</p>
<p>You typed out a quick response to let Beel know you were on your way, and when you looked up, Belphegor was already asleep. </p>
<p>You let yourself stare for a moment, knowing that you’d just gotten yourself involved in something that was not only none of your business, but that also had the potential to end very badly. There was no time to think about it right now, though. Beel was waiting. </p>
<p>You spent the entire walk back to his room worrying about how you were going to manage keeping this a secret. Especially from Lucifer. You were honestly surprised he hadn’t caught you going up there to begin with. It was going to be difficult, for sure, but you’d just have to do your best to push it from your mind until you got all the pacts necessary to open the door. </p>
<p><em>If</em> you got all the pacts. A very big if. </p>
<p>Beel was sitting on the side of his bed wringing his hands with a dejected expression when you walked in.</p>
<p>“I’ve been trying to think of how to tell Simeon,” he said. </p>
<p>You sat down next to him. <em>YOUR BROTHER IS UPSTAIRS AND HAS BEEN THIS WHOLE TIME—</em> “We should just tell him exactly what happened. Maybe he’ll know something we don’t that will help us find Luke.”</p>
<p>Beel nodded. “You’re probably right. Should we go now? It might—,”</p>
<p>This time, it was his DDD interrupting. Not with a text, but with a call. He looked at the caller ID—you saw Mammon’s picture—and visibly debated hanging up before deciding to answer.</p>
<p>“<em>Get to the crypts, now!</em>” Mammon said, loudly enough for you to hear, before Beel could even get out a “hello.”</p>
<p>“Why? What’s wrong?”</p>
<p>“<em>Luke’s down here, and Lucifer’s about to kill him!</em>”</p>
<p>Beel glanced at you, eyes wide. “Be right there.” He hung up and was at the door in a second. “Come on!” he called over his shoulder.</p>
<p>You practically had to sprint to keep up with him. He led you back to the main floor, down a series of halls to a part of the house you had only briefly explored, stopping in front of a seemingly random wall and pressing one of the stones set into it. A hidden door clicked open and he stepped through it without explanation.</p>
<p>On the other side, a narrow stairwell spiraled down into darkness. You had to assume it led to the crypts Mammon mentioned. The descent was not pleasant—the air was stale and musty and grew colder the farther you went, and the steps were uneven and hard to see in the dim light. Thankfully Beel hadn’t taken off and was waiting for you to catch up at the bottom. </p>
<p>You passed through several small rooms before emerging into a cavernous space carved entirely from stone. It was almost reminiscent of a cathedral, one wide central aisle lined by pillared walls that rose to a vaulted ceiling, flickering torches spaced along the length. At the far end, what you could only assume was an altar sat amidst a sea of candles, and in front of it…</p>
<p>...was Luke. </p>
<p>And in front of <em>him</em> was Lucifer. A very, very angry Lucifer, if the flared wings and swirling black aura was anything to go by. Mammon, Asmo, Levi, and Satan were gathered as close as they dared, and you and Beel quickly ran to join them. </p>
<p>Luke cried out your name when he noticed you approaching. He looked terrified, backed against the altar and trembling. “I’m sorry! I—,”</p>
<p>“<strong>QUIET</strong>!” Lucifer shouted. </p>
<p>Mammon gave the two of you a helpless glance. “You gotta help us calm him down!”</p>
<p>“Why is he so upset?” you asked. Surely just finding Luke wandering in the house wasn’t enough to drive him to this state. </p>
<p>Beel answered for him, so softly you almost didn’t hear it. “That’s Lilith’s tomb.”</p>
<p>You looked to the candle-covered stone at the end of the room again. A small sculpted figure stood on top, but other than that, it was an unassuming structure. You couldn’t blame Luke for not knowing what it was. It was probably the worst possible place in the entire house for Lucifer to find him, though—catching someone who openly hated you sneaking around the secret grave of your baby sister? It must have looked like Luke was up to no good, and you knew how sensitive a subject Lilith was just from the way Beel tiptoed around talking about her. It was no surprise Lucifer had flown into a rage.</p>
<p>“He just got lost!” you told Mammon. “He didn’t come down here on purpose.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s what he keeps saying, but Lucifer ain’t listening. We don’t know how he even got into the house in the first place.” </p>
<p>“He was in my room,” Beel explained. “We lost track of him after breakfast.”</p>
<p>“<strong><em>Your</em> room?</strong>” Lucifer turned away from Luke to pin Beel with a deadly glare. The black miasma surrounding him crept across the floor towards your feet in thick, snaking tendrils. “<strong>BEELZEBUB!</strong>”</p>
<p>
  Beel shrank back. The rest of his brothers edged away, out of the immediate radius of Lucifer’s anger. Luke took the opportunity to scurry away from the stone monument and take refuge behind them.
</p>
<p>
  “<strong>You allowed him access to the house? This angel who would desecrate her tomb?</strong>”
</p>
<p>
  “That’s not what I was doing!” Luke tried to interject. “I just—,”
</p>
<p>
  Mammon slapped a hand over his mouth. “Shut up! It doesn’t matter if that’s what you were doing or not.” He glanced at Satan, Asmo, and Levi. “One of you get Lord Diavolo down here; he’s the only one who’s gonna be able to stop him at this point.” 
</p>
<p>
  Asmo nodded and quickly pulled out his DDD.
</p>
<p>
  “<strong>You had better be prepared for the consequences,</strong>” Lucifer warned, advancing on the two of you. Beel tried to push you aside, but you held onto his arm, part of you rooted in place by fear and part of you not wanting to abandon him when he was clearly also afraid. He gave you a worried look and settled for stepping in front of you, a human (demon) shield against his brother’s wrath. 
</p>
<p>
  Lucifer’s eyes flickered to you. They were glowing. “<strong>Out of the way, human.</strong>”
</p>
<p>
  You clung fast to Beel. Lucifer cared too much about the exchange program to hurt you, right? If you stalled him for long enough, maybe Diavolo could get here and calm him down before anything bad happened.
</p>
<p>
  “<strong>I said, <em>out of the way.</em></strong>” Black mist pooled around your feet. It started to get a little hard to breathe.
</p>
<p>
  “MC!” Mammon called. “Come on, get outta there!”
</p>
<p>
  “I let Luke into the house,” you said. It came out as barely more than a whisper.
</p>
<p>
  The smoldering glow behind Lucifer’s eyes flared. His hands, nails elongated into dark claws, clenched at his sides. “<strong>I’ll deal with you later,</strong>” he hissed through gritted teeth. “<strong>Now unless you want to <em>die</em>, I suggest you <em>move.</em></strong>”
</p>
<p>
    Your grip on Beel’s arm only tightened.
</p>
<p>
    Several things happened next, so quickly you hardly had time to process what was going on. Shadows gathered around one of Lucifer’s hands as he raised it as if to strike. Mammon leaped towards you. Beel reached to grab Lucifer. You heard Lucifer snarl, “<strong>MOVE!</strong>” as he swiped through the air like he was knocking something aside. 
</p>
<p>
    A massive pressure struck your entire body, and everything went black.
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The whole “grimoire” thing felt a little too contrived for me, so I changed it to Lilith’s tomb.  I feel like it makes sense for Lucifer to get as angry as he did in that case, if he thought an angel had broken into the house to disrespect her resting place, rather than getting mad about a random super mega powerful magic book that was never mentioned before and is never relevant again. </p>
<p>ANYWAY, thank you for reading, I love seeing your comments!! SOFT BEEL CHAPTER IS FINALLY COMING!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Second Pact</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Quality time with Beel</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time to post a new chapter, it’s only been *checks watch* two months (oof sorry)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You figured you were probably dead. </p>
<p>It was a logical assumption, following the chain of events--a super powerful demon was pissed off, you got in his way, he hit you with some kind of magic blast, and now… Well. What exactly was happening now, you weren’t sure. </p>
<p>You were in a void, unable to feel your body in any specific way but still aware of a dull sense of pain. Every once in a while a muted sound reached you, maybe voices, but it was far too indistinct to make out. You had no sense of time. </p>
<p>Would someone come eventually to take your soul wherever it needed to go? An angel, hopefully, to escort you to the Celestial Realm? Or maybe that was too optimistic. You had a pact with a demon, now, after all. They probably had rules about that kind of thing up there. So… hell? You didn’t think you’d led an especially sinful life, but you <em>were</em> already there, more or less. Lucifer might have just grabbed your soul after he finished you off so he could toss it in a pit somewhere. Or eat it. Did demons eat the soul? They’d made it clear that they enjoyed eating the body, but never really clarified what they did with the rest.</p>
<p>What if one of the brothers had eaten it, or absorbed it or whatever, and that’s why you were just floating here? What if you didn’t have any soul left to go to heaven or hell, and this void was all there was for you? That almost seemed worse than being tortured for the rest of eternity. Slowly going mad, alone in the dark. </p>
<p>No, that was stupid. If they destroyed your soul, you’d just be gone. Wiped from existence. The fact that you were here, wherever <em>here</em> was, thinking and worrying and, well, <em>existing</em>, meant your soul must still be intact. </p>
<p>You sighed. Or tried to, at least. You still couldn’t feel your body.</p>
<p>Time continued to pass uneventfully. There was no way of telling how long you’d waited until you finally caught a glimpse of something from the corner of your eye. Just a little shimmer of light, but it stood out like a firework in the darkness.  </p>
<p>After a few seconds, it appeared again in front of you, flickering gently before fading away. Then again, slightly larger. And again, and again, growing and lasting longer each time, until it didn’t fade at all. The light still wavered like a candle on the brink of going out, but it seemed to have stabilized, more or less, in the vague shape of a person. </p>
<p>Unsure if you could even communicate in this state, you waited for it to do something. </p>
<p><em>You…</em> it murmured, barely more than a whisper yet echoing around you at the same time. <em>...can help them... You can help him…</em></p>
<p>It moved towards you. Part of it reached out, and warmth radiated through you, bringing the faintest tingles of sensation to your physical body. </p>
<p><em>Please…</em> </p>
<p>The voice sounded like a young girl. Actually, it sounded a lot like the voice you’d heard call your name at the bottom of the attic stairs, when you’d been looking for Luke. Maybe you’d been right in thinking she was a ghost, and now that you were more-or-less-dead in this liminal space, you could see her. </p>
<p><em>Please…</em> she repeated. The feeling in your body intensified, like the wavering moment between sleeping and waking where you’re half aware of lying in bed but still inside a dream. </p>
<p>The ghost called your name and her voice was layered with another, calling from outside the void. Her image began to fade. You tried to speak, to ask who she was, but couldn’t manage to make a sound. </p>
<p>The second voice spoke again, pulling you further into reality. “Wake up, please…”</p>
<p>The ghost disappeared. </p>
<p>You blinked your eyes open, slowly, wincing in at the pain that the light sent stabbing through your head. You were lying down, nestled somewhere soft with a blanket covering you. A blurry shape filled most of your vision--based off the orange blob at the top, it was probably Beel. His outline solidified as your disorientation faded.</p>
<p>“MC?” he said, hopefully.</p>
<p>You groaned. Now that you could feel your body, everything hurt. </p>
<p>Beel reached out, but hesitated, one hand hovering near you like he wanted to offer comfort but wasn’t sure how. He ended up just dropping the hand back into his lap. “I wasn’t sure you would wake up. I know humans are fragile… Do you remember what happened?”</p>
<p>“Lucifer hit me,” you croaked out. </p>
<p>Beel nodded. “If Lord Diavolo hadn’t shown up right away, you probably would have died. He managed to stop Lucifer, and then we were able to get Simeon to come help you.”</p>
<p>You’d have to thank them when you got the chance. And speaking of Simeon… you didn’t see his companion anywhere. </p>
<p>“Is Luke okay?” you asked.</p>
<p>“He’s fine. Simeon took him back to Purgatory Hall.”</p>
<p>Well, that was a relief. “Are <em>you</em> okay?”</p>
<p>Beel almost looked frustrated at the question. “You shouldn’t be worried about that right now. You’re still hurt.”</p>
<p>You started to say, “I’m fine,” but the words stuck in your throat and threw you into a coughing fit that sent waves of pain coursing through your entire body. Beel grabbed a glass of water off the bedside table and held it gently to your mouth. Raising an arm to take it yourself felt like lifting a hundred pounds, so you ignored the somewhat embarrassed, helpless feeling and let him do it. </p>
<p>When the coughing subsided, you could only lay there for a minute and breathe through the pain. You felt like one giant bruise. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Beel said. “This is my fault.”</p>
<p>“No it’s not,” you argued, but he just shook his head.</p>
<p>“It is. It’s my fault Luke was in the house to begin with. Then I didn’t find him when he got lost, then I couldn’t stop Lucifer. You were standing right in front of me and I couldn’t even do anything.”</p>
<p>You didn’t have the energy to explain how none of that changed the fact that it was you who chose to confront a raging demon and Lucifer who chose to attack you, so you just repeated, “It’s not your fault.”</p>
<p>Beel huffed a sigh, staring down at his hands. He had clearly been beating himself up about this for however long you had been unconscious. “Why didn’t you run away?” he asked. “Did you think Lucifer wouldn’t hurt you just because you’re part of the exchange program?”</p>
<p>You had <em>hoped</em> Lucifer wouldn’t hurt you for that reason, yes, but truthfully that was only part of it. “I didn’t want to leave you by yourself.”</p>
<p>“But why?” Beel pressed. “He wouldn’t have killed me. And even if he hurt me, I would have healed faster than you. You were just putting yourself in danger.”</p>
<p>The thought of speaking more than one clipped sentence at a time made your chest ache (more than it was already aching), so you shrugged and boiled your answer down to its most basic point: “I like you.” </p>
<p>“You--oh.” Beel looked a little surprised, but then he smiled. “I like you, too.”</p>
<p><em>I like you, too.</em> It came so easily, like you were preschoolers on the playground and not an ageless demon and the hapless mortal living in his house. Coming from any of his brothers, you would have found it suspicious. And maybe it was stupid of you to trust him as if he were any different—he was still a demon, and you hadn’t even known him for very long. But you just couldn’t bring yourself to doubt that soft expression on his face, as if the simple fact that you liked him had made his whole day. </p>
<p>“Can you walk?” he asked suddenly.</p>
<p>“Um.” Technically, yes, your legs were functional, but judging from the strain that just laying there and talking was putting on you, you had to assume walking would be, at the very least, really goddamn painful. “Maybe,” you said. “Why?”</p>
<p>Beel shifted in his seat. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t want Mammon to interrupt. He’s been in and out of here all day to check on you.”</p>
<p>You grinned. Mammon the sweetheart. Hearing that he was worried did admittedly make you feel a little warm and fuzzy inside. You’d have to be sure to tease him about it later. </p>
<p>Focusing on the actual task at hand, though—what could Beel possibly need to tell you that had him nervous about someone overhearing? It was uncharacteristically serious of him. </p>
<p>“Let me try to get up,” you said. </p>
<p>Your attempt was painfully slow—emphasis on <em>painfully</em>—but eventually you were able to struggle to your feet, leaning on Beel for some support. Everything was just extraordinarily sore, like you’d spent the entire previous day doing nonstop full-body workouts. It was probably a fraction of the pain you’d be in if Simeon hadn’t healed the worst of your injuries, though, and it was better than being dead, so you couldn’t complain too much. </p>
<p>Beel helped you shuffle out of his room and down to the first floor, careful to avoid his brothers along the way. He stopped at a seemingly random wall near the front entrance. After glancing side to side, much like Levi did before allowing you into his room, he pressed his fingertips to a decorative pattern on the trim and murmured a few words in a language you didn’t understand. A soft glow spread across the surface, creeping up his arm and surrounding his body and then yours, filling your vision with white. When it faded, the two of you were standing in a different room.</p>
<p>The space stood in stark contrast to the rest of the house--pastel walls, light furniture. Less like a vampire’s mansion and more like a princess’s castle. You pulled in a sharp breath at the sight of sunlight streaming through the windows. </p>
<p>“This is Lilith’s room, from the Celestial Realm,” Beel explained. “Lucifer made it not long after we moved in. I don’t think he meant for the rest of us to find it, but we all did eventually.”</p>
<p>You were still fixated on the scenery outside, even more so now that you knew it was the Celestial Realm. Illusion or not, how many humans got the chance to see something like that? Well, how many <em>living</em> humans, at least. </p>
<p>“Do you want to look?” he asked. At your nod, he led you up to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and pushed the delicate curtains aside to reveal the view. </p>
<p>It was like something out of a fairy tale. Glittering towers, waterfalls and streams winding through rolling green hills, snow-capped mountains in the distance rising to touch the clouds in a perfectly blue sky. There was even a rainbow. It almost bordered on tacky, like something you’d see on a poster in a little girl’s bedroom, but just knowing it was real made it infinitely more beautiful.</p>
<p>“Is that really what it looks like?”</p>
<p>“Mm.” </p>
<p>Beel had a faraway look in his eyes. Remembering a different life thousands of years ago, you were sure. You wondered if the memories were pleasant.</p>
<p>You also wondered why he had suddenly decided to show this to you now. Was it his way of apologizing? His sister was a sensitive subject very close to his heart, so allowing you to see her old room probably meant a lot to him.</p>
<p>He usually expressed his thoughts in his own time, so you just let him have the silence while you soaked in the illusory sunlight. </p>
<p>After several minutes, he spoke. “I was thinking about what I could do for you, to make up for you getting hurt. At first I thought maybe I could take you out to eat somewhere nice, but…” He glanced down, almost embarrassed at the idea.  “That didn’t seem like enough. If you were willing to risk your life, I should do something just as important in return.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to—,” you started, but he cut you off.</p>
<p>“Yes, I do. I couldn’t protect you this time, but I can make sure I’m there next time.” He held out a hand with a determined expression. “I’ll make a pact with you.”</p>
<p>You blinked at his outstretched hand. After the ordeal with Mammon, you’d gotten the impression that no demon would ever want to enter into a pact willingly. Especially not any of the brothers. </p>
<p>“You don’t have to do that,” you repeated, trying to reject the offer as gently as possible. </p>
<p>“I want to,” he said.</p>
<p>“I don’t have anything to give you.”</p>
<p>He shook his head. “I told you, it’s for what happened. I want to do it.”</p>
<p>It looked like you didn’t really have much of an option. He did seem genuinely upset by what had happened, and in all the time since you’d arrived in the Devildom he’d never been deceitful or tried to hurt you (intentionally, at least), so you supposed you could trust him on this. He wasn’t even asking for your soul, after all. </p>
<p>And of course you remembered Belphegor’s plea. If you were seriously going to try to make pacts with all of the brothers, it would be stupid to turn one down when it was being handed to you on a silver platter. </p>
<p>Mind made up, you took his hand. His fingers closed around yours, firmly enough that you startled a little. </p>
<p>“I need you to promise me something first,” he said. His face held none of the kindness from moments before—this was Beelzebub, demon lord, not Beel the friendly roommate. “Promise me you’ll never use it against my brothers.”</p>
<p>It was an easy condition to agree to. You had no interest in politics or power or anything else there might be to gain from doing something like using him as a weapon against his own family. Just the thought made your stomach churn. If he wanted to give you such a  valuable gift, your only goal was to prove to him that he wasn’t wrong to trust you with it. </p>
<p>“I promise,” you said. </p>
<p>Just like that, scary Beel disappeared and soft Beel was back. “Good,” he smiled. </p>
<p>Light shone briefly from the point where your hands touched, and warmth flooded your body. It felt different than it had with Mammon. Less like electricity and more like… coming inside after being out in the cold. </p>
<p>Beel let go of your hand and his eyes roamed your body, stopping midway down your torso as if he’d found something he was looking for. “Can I see it?” he asked.</p>
<p>You were suddenly very confused about what was happening. “See what?”</p>
<p>“The mark.” At your blank look, he elaborated, “The pact mark.”</p>
<p>The <em>what</em> now? No one had mentioned anything like that. “It leaves a mark?” </p>
<p>Beel’s brows knit together in confusion mirroring your own. “Have you not seen Mammon’s?”</p>
<p>“No!” You’d been walking around this whole time with some kind of demonic tattoo, and nobody had thought to tell you? And now you had <em>two</em>?</p>
<p>“It’s on your back.” Beel reached out and nudged you to turn around, which you did, allowing him to poke a spot between your shoulder blades where you’d apparently been marked by the Avatar of Greed. No wonder you’d missed it—you didn’t exactly have a habit of examining your naked back in the mirror. </p>
<p>“How did you know it was there?” you asked, turning to face him again. <em>And has literally everyone else known this entire time, too?</em></p>
<p>“It has his magic,” Beel said, like it was that simple. You supposed it probably <em>was,</em> to him. </p>
<p>You glanced down at the area he’d been staring at. “And yours is…?”</p>
<p>He placed a gentle touch just below your sternum, slightly above your stomach. “Right here.”</p>
<p>It was a bit of an awkward spot to see without a mirror, but you lifted your shirt enough to uncover it and tried to get a look. </p>
<p>The lines were black, twisted into an intricate symbol and encircled with what you assumed was demonic lettering. Beel hummed at the sight of it. He reached towards you again, but hesitated a few inches from your skin, eyes searching yours for permission. </p>
<p>“...You can touch it,” you said, far quieter than you meant to. The situation felt strangely intimate all of a sudden. </p>
<p>The mark shimmered red when his fingertips traced across it. That sensation you were starting to become accustomed to, the one that happened whenever you invoked the pacts, tingled up your spine, and if your heart fluttered a little at his touch, well. That had to be part of the pact, too. </p>
<p>Beel smiled as you pulled your shirt back down. “You can call for me now, if you’re in trouble.”</p>
<p>“I think Mammon would be pretty upset if I called for anyone but him,” you joked, trying to dispel the lingering <s>romantic</s> tension in the air. </p>
<p>Beel snorted. “We should probably get back to the room. He’ll freak out if he sees you’re gone.” Without warning, he scooped you up in a bridal carry as effortlessly as if you were made of paper, ignoring your surprised squeal. “I shouldn’t have made you get out of bed. I’ll carry you back.”</p>
<p>“I can walk—,”</p>
<p>“You need to rest.”</p>
<p>He looked down at you with that expression—that stupidly fucking sweet, soft expression that no demon had any business putting on their face—and you decided not to argue. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>******</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That night was your last sleeping in Beel’s room, and a loud <em>THUMP</em> woke you some hours after both of you had drifted off. You shot up in bed, assuming something terrible and dangerous was happening, like a home invasion or an earthquake, but then Beel groaned and in the dim light from the glowing decorations on the wall you saw him picking himself up off the floor.</p>
<p>“Beel?” you called.</p>
<p>“It’s okay. I just fell off the couch.”</p>
<p>You held back a sigh. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep on the bed?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine.”</p>
<p>His insistence did little to ease your guilt, but at least this was the last night you’d have to inconvenience him. You rolled back over and settled in. </p>
<p>A few seconds later, Beel sniffled. It sounded like he was trying to hide it, so you pretended not to hear. But then he did it again, and the mental image of Beel <em>crying</em> was simply too much to ignore.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” you asked, quietly, as if that would make the question less intrusive.</p>
<p>“Mm-hm.”</p>
<p>You frowned. Obviously he wasn’t. If he didn’t want to talk, though, he didn’t want to talk. But you’d be damned if you let him spend the rest of the night falling on the floor.</p>
<p>“If you really don’t want me to sleep on the couch, I don’t mind sharing the bed,” you told him. When he didn’t respond right away, you added, “Please?”</p>
<p>Another few moments passed in silence before he asked, “Are you sure?”</p>
<p>“Of course. It’s big enough for two people.”</p>
<p>He didn’t move for so long that you thought he’d just decided to ignore you and gone back to sleep, but after a few minutes he gathered up his blanket and pillow and padded over to the bed. He paused again before finally pulling the sheets back and climbing in next to you. </p>
<p>The mattress dipped under his weight and you immediately felt the warmth radiating from his body, despite the fact that he was careful to put a fair amount of distance between you. His stomach rumbled audibly, and you had the realization that maybe him camping on the couch had been partially for your own safety. You hadn’t been thinking about it when you offered to share the bed, but now that he was so close, within arm’s reach, you started to worry about what might happen if he got hungry in his sleep. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry if I woke you up,” he murmured, and he sounded so pitiful that you couldn’t even bring yourself to keep worrying about being eaten.</p>
<p>“It’s okay.”</p>
<p>“...I get nightmares, sometimes.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” You hesitated, caught off guard at the sudden confession. “About what?”</p>
<p>He toyed with the edge of the blanket. “The war… Lilith.” It felt like he had to work his way up to getting the sentences out. “I was there, when she died. I saw that it was about to happen. They were aiming at Belphie, too, and I could only get to one of them in time.”</p>
<p>“Beel…” You hardly knew what to say. What a horrible memory to have to live with. “I’m so sorry.” </p>
<p>No wonder he beat himself up over you getting hurt. He’d carried this trauma for how many thousands of years, of failing to protect someone precious to him, and God knows his emotionally constipated brothers probably hadn’t helped him deal with it in any healthy way, and then you’d gone and almost died right under his nose. It had to have brought on some unpleasant flashbacks. </p>
<p>“I know it wasn’t my fault, but… it feels like it was. Like I should have been able to figure something out, or done something differently.”</p>
<p>“It sounds like you did everything you could.”</p>
<p>“That’s what everyone says. But she looked so scared... I just feel like I failed her. I think Belphie feels the same way, even though he’d never say it. He wanted me to save her instead.”</p>
<p>You blinked back the tears that prickled in your eyes. “I’m sorry,” you said again. “No one should have to make a choice like that.”</p>
<p>Beel took a long, slow breath. “Yeah.” </p>
<p>He didn’t say anything else, and you thought that was the end of it. You were just starting to drift off when he spoke up again, so softly you almost missed it. </p>
<p>“Can I hold your hand?”</p>
<p>You rolled over to face him. His expression was barely visible in the low light—he looked sad. Just deeply, painfully sad. He avoided your eyes, as if embarrassed by his own request, or afraid of what you might say in response. In that moment he felt much smaller. </p>
<p>“Of course.” You withdrew a hand from under the blankets and laid it between the two of you. He took it gingerly and you gave him a small, reassuring squeeze.</p>
<p>“Thanks.”</p>
<p>You smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile, necessarily, but at the very least you were touched that Beel felt comfortable enough to be so vulnerable with you. Maybe your destroyed bedroom had been a blessing in disguise. “Good night,” you said. </p>
<p>He smiled back. “Good night.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Real life got to me again, sorry to keep you all waiting! This entire chapter was actually like 80% written the whole time, it was just a few last little bits that kept getting me tripped up. Super glad to finally have it finished. Thank you as always for your kudos and kind comments, they keep me smiling through everything!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>